We Are Pilots
by meSOcoolxD
Summary: BL;; They're bruised, they're battered, and on most days they can hardly see out of one eye. But it's what they do. It's what he's paid to do. And as much as she shouldn't, she likes it.
1. This Is What We Do

**A/N;;** Okay new story up in here lol. I've been reading weird &strange books &i got this idea for a new fic. It's Brooke&Lucas, of course, with a little bit of Leyton, but that's just to watch them fall lol. So yeah, basically, Brooke is the rich girl, gets everything she wants, but somewhat different than how she is on the show, in high school, of course. The Brooke in this fic gets good grades, she has had her fair share of boys, but she's not considerably labeled as a slut. Her best friends are Haley, Peyton &Rachel, Haley's still the Tutorgirl, Peyton's the starving artist, &Rachel's 'friendly.' The guy group is Lucas, Nathan, Jake, &Owen. Karen is Lucas &Nathan's mom, Deb doesn't exist, &Cooper Lee is in here too. He has no relation to Lucas or Nathan, but he's just their boss. Cooper's a scammer, just trying to make money all the time. Keith was Lucas &Nathan's father, until he got in a car accident three years ago &died. Karen was so heartbroken, so she decided to take a trip to Italy, &is now traveling all around the world, leaving Lucas &Nathan to live by themselves in the house. The whole storyline will come into place. It's pretty different, so keep up! If you get ever lost or anything, just let me know in a review, &i'll get back to you as soon as I can. Enjoy Review!!

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Chapter One;; This Is What We Do.

If you were to stand outside the small building, you would hear nothing but swarms, and murmurs of something that you could not make out. Cars, various kinds, were parked in the parking lots. They were nice, no doubt about that, and you knew whoever drove them were rolling in doe. Two bouncers stood at the entrance to the building, wearing black and with headsets embedded in their ears. They looked serious and quiete intimidating amidst the loud noise going on inside. It was wet, the ground still drying off from the rain. The cold that drifted in the air bit at their arms everytime someone would walk outside. It was a bitter cold outside, but it was anything but once you stepped inside.

Inside, it was hard to breathe, but not because of the cold, but because of the heat and crowds of bodies encircles between two fighters. Everyone was yelling, with their fists raised either empty or holding cash, ranging from twenty bucks to five hundred. They were all here for two reasons: to win a bet, or to hand over the money. But there was also the entertainment of it. So it was obvious that the two bloody and beat up guys in the middle of the circle were getting something out of this.

He stood in the front of the crowd with his arms crossed, watching the match going down. It was a classic Asian versus White Boy. But he had to say, the Asian was one hell of a fighter what with his purple mohawk and pierced eyebrows. He was built to the ground with energy and leg muscles that could take out The Big Show. Not only that, but he was small, which made it a hell of a time for the other guy to catch him. The other guy. He was tall, skinny thing but with a strong six pack to make up for it. His blonde hair and blood was matted down around his face.

They were both wearing a mere pair of shorts, barefoot, with no shirt and only wraps around their ankles, fighting gloves around their hands and wrists. Both guys were already beaten to the pulp, but someone either had to tap out, or stay down, and he was pretty sure that it would end any moment now.

The blonde rammed Mohawk's head into his knee, continuing to do so until it became almost boring. The blonde let him fall to the floor before turning away, wiping his brow, figuring out what the hell he could do to take this dude out. He looked to the guy in the front of the crowd. He stood there calmly, and stoically, looking like an outsider admist everyone else. He smirked, and the fighter knew just what to do. From the corner of his eye he saw Mohawk guy rise up, which was a big mistake. Without a single thought, the blonde swung his leg for a roundhouse kick straight to the mouth. It was like everything had went into slow motion, blood flying out of Mohawk's mouth and bits of pieces of teeth flying out with it.

Everyone inside the building erupted, some cheering because they were a couple of hundred dollars richer, and others yelling in anger because they were a couple of hundred dollars short. But it didn't matter, the blonde was getting paid to beat people's asses, and frankly he didn't care who lost or gained money. The referee raised his hand up in victory, people still cheering for him as he let his hand fall, just wanting to get the hell out of there. As he began to make his way out of the circle, people jumped out of his way, either in disgust of his physical state, or in fear that they would be next to experience that deadly kick. His breathing was heavy, and the weight of the gloves was almost too heavy for him.

The guy that had once stood in the crowd had drifted away from the celebratories and made his way over to the backroom, where the blonde was currently nursing his wounds. Pushing the door open, there was blonde stood, sitting on a bench, trying to catch his breath. That was one amazing fight, he would've been tired as hell too.

"Nice roundhouse," Nathan commented, leaning against the door way. It was his night off, thank goodness for that, because if he had been fighting out there too, he would've missed the fight that his brother had done a good job at marking as his own. Gruesome, sure, but that was their jobs, and it paid off with the large sack of money at the end of the night.

Lucas looked up at him, "You think? I thought that guy was never going to quit."

"He's from Japan, what do you expect?" Nathan asked, opening up Lucas' duffel bag and throwing him a towel. Lucas caught it before patting his head gently, aware of the possible open cuts that were potentially all around his face. There was no doubt that he would have to ice his hands for a couple of hours, too.

"I don't know what I was expecting. Hey what time is it anyway?" he asked, wiping the sweat from his chest.

Nathan checked his watch, "11:43. You've made us good time, Bro. If anything we'll be home and in bed by midnight."

Lucas smirked, "And up and ready to go to school by 7:30. I didn't even finish my Chemistry homework yet."

"You're not getting that done in time. You might as well hit the sack once we get home. But first thing's first, where's Cooper with your money?"

Lucas chuckled, "You mean our money? I don't know, he should be here in a couple of minutes. That was a pretty big crowd out there."

"I could barely breathe when I first walked in," Nathan said just as the door opened again and in stepped Cooper Lee. He was a tad bit young to be managing a fighting circuit, and sometimes you had no idea if he was trying to scam you, or if he was for real. But low and behold, he had a sack that was holding what they even fought for in the first place.

"Nice job Luke, I thought we were going to have to call an ambulance on Han-Dok," he said impressively, throwing the sack over to Lucas. He handed it over to Nathan, who opened it up, looking through the opening. He was guestimating how much money was in there, and how much Cooper could have potentially taken for himself. Nathan and Lucas knew that Cooper Lee was full of shit, and most of the time he spent all the money he snooped paying off debts that he owed to other people. Peope that could potentially kill him. They couldn't really be mad about it, Cooper was a scumbag, but he got them they're money, so they didn't do anything about it.

"What? Am I supposed to be happy about that?" he said, pulling out a grey hoodie from the duffel bag and throwing it over himself, wincing at the pain he felt in his body. Lucas tried calculating the amount of bruises and scratches that he could potentially have or haven't formed yet. He would surely have fun trying to get up tomorrow morning.

Cooper narrowed his eyebrows, "Actually you should be. The more pain your opponent experiences, the more money you get." And with that, he was out of sight.

"Well, he's kind of right, in am immoral kind of way," Nathan said, putting Lucas' gloves into his duffel bag. "Let's head out and get something to eat before heading home."

"Yeah," Lucas said wearily, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Heading home to an empty house, that was just the greatest way to end the night. By the time the two brothers exited the restroom, the crowd had left, and the technical guys were there cleaning up the mess that had been left on the mat. Cooper was sitting down in a counter, counting various bills and stacking them up in different parts of the table, each stack probably marking a guy that Cooper owed money to.

Parked outside was a red '67 Shelby Mustang, a loner with all the cars that had left. It was Lucas' pride and joy, and it had cost him a few cracked ribs and a bruised jaw to earn the money to buy. Opening the passenger seat, Lucas chuckled his bag in the backseat, and collapsed, leaning his head back. Nathan climbed into the driver's seat, turning the ignition. No words needed to be said, because neither were in the mood for talking. Lucas was still recovering from the match, and Nathan was hungry.

"You think Peyton will be at the house when we get there?" Nathan finally asked, pulling into the Taco Bell drive-thru.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "I really hope not. In case she hasn't caught on already, I'm in no mood to fuck right after a match."

"Well if you want to put it that way," Nathan said before ducking his head out the window. "Can I have eight Crunchwrap Supremes, two Cheesy Beefy Melts, four Caramel Apple Empanadas, and two large Cokes?" Lucas chuckled, wishing he was there to see the facial expression of the employee that had taken the immense food order.

"You sounded like a pig saying that," he said as Nathan drove over to the window, where he gave them the money in exchange for the bag of food.

Nathan shrugged, "Whatever, we could totally eat way more than that, but I only had thirty five bucks on me."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah, you're right about that. Gawd, I can't wait to get home. This night almost killed me."

"We can't have that can we?" Nathan asked, going 70mph, just as anxious to get home as Lucas was. He meant to me sarcastic, but in other words, if both the boys weren't working, that meant absolutely no money

The night sky was looming over them. The drive remained quiet, the smell of tacos ensnaring the boys' nostrils. Lucas had been known for his quietness, but he was always the most silent after a fight. There were tons of things that went through his mind when it was all said and done. Whether or not he would be able to see out of one eye or something, and Lucas wondered if the money he had made that night was enough to cover the water bill, or anything else he needed. Sometimes, when he was involved in those really messy fights, he wondered why he even got into the mixed martial arts fighting in the first place. Then he came to the realization that he really didn't know. At least, not for himself.

"Alright, no offense, and this isn't even my car, but you smell like shit, Luke," Nathan said, pulling into the drive way.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Like you haven't smelled this bad before. Let's just get the fuck inside and eat."

"My thoughts exactly," Nathan smirked, grabbing the sack of food and heading to the door. The light was on, which meant that Owen and Jake were probably inside, watching some UFC fight or Fight Club for about the thirtieth time that week. Then there was the fact that Owen's car was parked outside on one side of the driveway. Peyton's car was next to the driveway.

Nathan kicked open the door and saw Owen and Jake on the couch, in deep interest in whatever that was on television. Peyton sat in one of the loveseats, a sketchpad in her lap, her eyes furrowed and her wiry blonde hair in her face. Nathan rolled her eyes, knowing that Peyton wouldn't leave until she got some acknowledgment from his brother, who was in no mood to be hanging out with the girl that was obsessed with him. Nathan couldn't figure out why Lucas put up with her, but that wasn't an issue right now. Eating was.

"So how did it go?" Jake asked, tearing his eyes away from the screen. Lucas dropped his bag on the floor.

"Don't act like you don't know how it went," he said, snatching his food from Nathan's hand.

Owen smirked, "Yeah, you're right. Cooper called me about fifteen minutes after your match ended. He said you killed it, literally."

Nathan nodded, "Yeah, he definitely killed it, but not without any wounds to show for it, huh?" Lucas chuckled sarcastically, thinking that was saying it in the easiest of terms. He lifted his grey hoodie up, exposing bruised spots all around his stomach, and as he turned around, they were on his lower back and kidneys. Owen and Jake winced at them, even though they had experienced those very same wounds almost as much as Lucas did.

"So what are you guys watching anyway?" Nathan asked, sitting on the couch along with Jake and Owen.

"Fight Club," they answered simultanously, causing everyone to laugh. They really shouldn't have been surprised.

Lucas chuckled, "Yeah, that's really unpredictable guys." He took one last look at them before taking his food and going into the kitchen, where he could possibly get some peace and quiet. They all knew that Lucas never liked to engage in conversation after a fight. It was just the fact that he had things to think about, although no one would ever be able to figure out what went through the blonde's head. He finished each Crunch Wrap in two bites, and was already on his Cheesy Beefy Melt when he heard footsteps enter. Lucas sighed, it was Peyton, he knew it.

His relationship with Peyton was anything but normal. At first, they had started out as really good friends, best friends even. There was nothing neither of them knew about each other, people even went so far at school to assume they were a couple. And for awhile, they were together. Then things started changing. Lucas and Nathan had to start making more money, which caused Lucas and Peyton to drift away, they just didn't work for each other anymore. Lucas accepted it, but even to this day, Peyton couldn't let it go. So whenever Lucas was pissed off or felt down, Peyton had made it her mission in life to be there for him, in every single way possible.

"Peyton, I'm not really in the mood to talk right now," Lucas stated, not even turning his head. He was trying to be polite right now, because if he did what he had initially wanted to do, her ass would've been out the door as soon as he got home. But no, he was nicely asking her to not talk to him. But she couldn't even follow through with that.

"Come on Luke, something's obviously bothering you," she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He winced at her touch, one being because his shoulders were killing him, and another because he really didn't want Peyton touching him like that. They weren't together, they didn't have a committment.

"What's bothering me is you Peyton," he answered, easing her hands off of him and standing up. "I just got home from a fight. I'm tired in about every way possible, so if you wouldn't mind, just please leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to fuck right now. So I'll just see you tomorrow or something."

Peyton sighed, nodding her head, "Okay, that's fine. But I'm not going away Lucas." She stepped forward and places a kiss on his cheek. Lucas had to refrain from rolling his eyes, not wanting to ruin the one sided moment of intimacy. His whole night had just been ruined with that one kiss. He couldn't stand Peyton, but he didn't have the heart to turn her away.

"See you tomorrow," he mumbled, picking up his food and throwing it away, clearing losing his appetite. He sat back down, the back of the chair paining him to lean back on, but Lucas didn't care. There he was, sitting in the dark, smelling like shit and looking like it. That was just the way to end his weekend.

There were tons of thoughts running through his head. There was that Chemistry homework that Lucas had failed to finish when he clearly had all weekend to do it. Boy would he have fun explaining that to Mr. Simmons; 'Sorry I didn't have enough time to finish it because I was too busy beating the shit out of some Asian guy with a purple mohawk.' Yeah, he would surely be excused from that assignment. Then there was the fact that his whole body was aching, and it hurt to even walk. And the money. Yes, the money that he had almost permanently hurt himself to try to get to pay some bills along with the luxuries that two teenage boys wanted when living by themselves.

"You alright man?" Nathan asked, leaning against the counter top. He had always known that him and his twin brother were completely different. Lucas was always the quiet one, the silent thinker. Nathan was always the one to tell it like it was, and in the end that sometimes got him into a lot of trouble. Whenever Nathan won a match, he was excited, and ready to just do anything and everything. But Lucas liked to keep it quiet, and he would always want to be by himself most of the time. He never asked why, but needless to say Nathan was curious.

Lucas shrugged, "I guess I am. Peyton was just getting on my nerves and all. It's like she thinks we're going to be together again or something."

Nathan chuckled, "Looks to me like she's having a hard time letting go of things. But Luke if you keep letting her come around, she's never going to get the hint."

"I know that, but sometimes she just catches me at the worst times. I think she does it on purpose," he said, standing up and scotting his chair in.

"That's for sure. Why don't you head on to bed, I'll kick the boys out," Nathan offered, pushing himself off the counter and into the living room.

"Alright assholes I think it's time for you to take yourselves on home," he said, standing in front of the television.

Owen and Jake stood up. "Yeah alright Nate, I got a match tomorrow night, are you going to come and check it out?" Owen asked, slipping on his jacket.

Nathan shrugged, "Yeah I'll check it out, as long as you go to my match on Wednesday."

Owen smirked, "Alright then, I guess you'll see be there too. Ooh and did you so the Pre-Cal homework for tomorrow?"

"Does Nathan ever do his homework?" Jake joked, slapping Nathan on the back before exiting the house. "Tell Lucas I said nice match."

Nathan nodded his head, "Yeah I will, he's a little out of it right now." That would be an understatement, but he knew Jake and Owen would know what he was talking about. They all knew about Lucas' little mood swings and those times when he was a fucking ghost drifting throughout the whole town. None of them knew what was up with him, but they wouldn't talk to about it.

"Don't we know about that," Jake mumbled. "But we'll catch you later, Nate."

"See ya," he said before shutting the door. He began to put the pillows back to the originial order and took the huge bowl of popcorn into the kitchen. Setting it down on the counter, Nathan looked around the estranged house. For two years, he and Lucas had been on their own, working and trying to make extra money. Their mother never knew their job, she just knew that they were working. They could never tell Karen what they did for some extra money, but the way Nathan saw it, by the time Karen came back, they wouldn't be working anymore.

Jake was right, Nathan never did his homework. Well, when it came to Pre-Calculus he didn't. It was safe to say that Nathan was pretty close, almost on the brink of failing out of that class, but he didn't really care until last week. He had a meeting with his guidance councelor, and according to her, unless he got his grade up in that class, Nathan wasn't graduating, and there was no way in hell he was going to come back for another senior year. Hell fucking no.

He felt a vibration in the bottom of his pants, causing him to roll his eyes. Fishing it out, Nathan checked the called ID, although he clearly knew who it was.

"What do you want Cooper?" Nathan asked.

_"Now is that any way to greet your boss and friend?"_

"You're hardly a friend," Nathan stated. "So what's this late night call about?"

_"Alright whatever, Nate. I got a match for you on Friday night. Once your name came up, the bets went up the roof, and if you win, we're looking at money up to 3,000 bucks."_His eyes bulged, "3,000 bucks? Damn, that's a whole lot of money Cooper. Now do you mean I get all the money, or only half of it which goes to you and your debt pay offs?"

_"Nathan, you underestimate me so much. Look, I'll give you one other; if you take this guy out, I'll give you all of it. If you just get by, you only get half."_He chuckled, "Well I guess I'll have to kill the guy, won't I?"

_"Looks like it. Listen I got to run, but I'll see you at your match on Wednesday." _And with that the call ended. It didn't really surprise Nathan though, he would only talk to Cooper when he had to, and if he was talking about three thousand dollars, then Nathan could talk to him for a few minutes. Shaking his head, he walked into his room.

"What did Cooper want?" Lucas asked, already laying on his twin bed with his arms tucked under his head. There was a book on his stomach, The Great Gatsby. It was Lucas' next novel that he was determined to read for about the fifth time since he bought it a couple of years ago. Nathan rolled his eyes at his brother's nerdiness.

"He has a match for me this Friday. He said if I completely destroy this guy, then I get the whole three thousand bucks that people are already betting on me. If I lose or barely get by winning, then I only get half," Nathan explained, disposing of his polo shirt into a wife beater.

Lucas raised his head, "You do realize that you already have a match on Wednesday, right? Another match on Friday will not be easy to walk away from."

Nathan smirked, "Yeah, I realized that when Cooper first brought it up. He's trying to play me, Luke. He knew full well that I have a match on Wednesday. So now he's expecting me to still be beat by the time I have to fight on Friday. That way, I'l barely get by with the win, and he gets half of the 3 grand. I know what he's trying to do."

"So what are you going to do about it? If they're already betting three thousand dollars on you, the numbers are bound to go up by Friday."

He shrugged before climbing into bed, "I guess I gotta destroy the dude."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah, that seems to be the answer to everything these days, isn't it?"

Nathan shrugged, "It's what we do." Lucas was just mulling over his brother's words when he heard a loud tapping noise on his dresser. He looked over at it, and saw that his phone was moving in little circles, the vibrations conducting it's movement. Groaning he grabbed it and didn't even check the called ID.

"What the fuck do you want Cooper?" he asked into the phone, Nathan chuckling on his own bed.

_"Man what is with you Scotts and you're lack of respect?"_

"Just tell me what you want, so I can forget you even called me."

_"Lucas I would be a little bit nicer to me if I were you. I am supplying you and your brother the money that you need, or the money that you want to live a good life. So I suggest you cut the little bad boy shit and talk to me like you're not God."_

He rolled his eyes, "Alright fine. What is the purpose of your call at the ungodly hour of 12:15?"

_"You know what? I'm not even going to try. I have a match for you on Friday, the same night as your brother."_

Lucas' eyes narrowed, "But we've never fought on the same night."

_"There's a first time for everything, isn't there? There's a lot of money riding on this one too, and if things go good for you two, you and Nate won't have to fight again for at least a month."_

He sighed, "Alright, I'll do it. What time Friday night?"

_"Doesn't matter, just show up at the usual time."_

Lucas looked at his phone in confusion. Tonight was just not his night what so ever. Nathan continued to look at his brother, wearing almost the same expression.

"So what did Cooper want?"

"Looks like you're not the only Scott fighting Friday night," Lucas stated, setting his phone back down on the night stand.

Nathan raised his eyebrows, "Really? Well won't that just be a show?"

"I guess you could say that. Cooper said that if we both win our matches, we won't have to fight again for at least a month."

"We could really use that. Think about it, a whole month with no busted lips, and we won't have to see a single bruise," Nathan said.

Lucas smiled, "Yeah, that would be pretty sweet. A month of just hanging out with the boys, when they're not fighting, and we can have more time to study and finish homework. Maybe you can get someone at the Tutor Center to help you with your problems in Pre-Calculus."

Nathan smirked, "Okay, don't get too ahead of yourself."


	2. I Know Your Story

**A/N;;** Wow thanks for all the feedback. i didn't expect to get that much back. yess, this is a very different story than the other ones going on around here. but the reason fanfiction is here is to allow us to 'unleash our imagination' right? lol. alright, anyways, i think there's some things that we need to clear up before continuing.

- i know i said that Brooke's friends were Haley and Rachel, but i'm adding Peyton to the mix. she's hardly a friend to them, but that's how it played out in my head, so she's somewhat apart of the group of them. but things start going sour concerning Peyton and her friends.

- Brooke's the new girl, so she doesn't really know all about what the boys are up to career wise and money wise.

- i know i also said that Deb wasn't in this fic, but when i thought about it i decided to put her in as the manager of Karen's Cafe while Karen was away traveling the world. that way there's a standard hang out place and Haley's still the working girl, busting tables and such.

Some of you have sort of thought that there was going to be a match against Lucas and Nathan, and i just want to say that no, there won't be one between each other anytime soon. Cooper's an idiot, but he's not that stupid. if you think about it, the boys would be losing money if they fought each other. but idk, we'll see how it all plays out and there might be a match between the two brothers in the near future. Note;; i made up Owen's last name, and if the show actually states his last name, then i will change it so it makes more sense. Brooke and Lucas will not be the only couple in the story either, so you'll just have to keep on reading to find out! Enjoy and review!

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Chapter Two;; I Know Your Story.

"Now here's your schedule to the school. It appears that you have Pre-Calculus first period today, and if you have any questions, here's the school map. If you're one of those people that are terrible at reading maps, then I'm sure one of the other students in the halls will be happy to show you around," the feeble old lady said from the behind the front desk.

Brooke smiled politely, "Thanks, but I'm sure I got it covered." Just the thought of asking someone if they could show her around was enough to make her want to vomit. Not only that, but the bell had just rung for first period. Brooke was pretty sure they all did that on purpose so she would have to walk in when everyone was already seated, all eyes on her.

"If you say so. Welcome to Tree Hill High Miss Davis." She was hoping that she didn't receive the 'Welcome' speech from one of the teachers, or the principal, because frankly Brooke Davis didn't care. If things went as planned, she wasn't even going to be here long enough to not be called the 'New Girl.'

Roaming through the halls, she felt every single eye staring at her up and down. Not that she wasn't used to it, but half of the reason was because she was hot, and other reason being that she was new, and no one had ever seen her around these halls before. The first day of school was always a drag, especially when you were starting all over.

Brooke looked at her schedule, and it looks like the old hag updated her glasses; she did have Pre-Calculus first period in Room 123. Not only did she despise math in general, in her last school she was barely getting by in Pre-Cal. Something told her she was going to have to get some extra help in this freaking school.

Room 123. The place of her doom. She cautiously turned the knob, rolling her eyes at the squeak that it made as she pushed it all the way open. There was a teacher seated at a desk, typing something on the computer, different equations and charts neatly written on the board. It wasn't until she completely entered the room until she saw all the students, looking straight at her.

Sighing, she slowly walked towards the teacher's desk, where a man with thick glasses sat about two inches away from the computer screen. He sat there typing continuously, obvlivious to the fact that there was a whole class in the room. She turned to the class, trying to find some guidance. Some were copying down stuff on the board, but most were still staring at her.

Brooke cleared her throat, "Uhm, excuse me, Mr., Hoyt?" she asked, checking her schedule for the teacher's name.

He tore his eyes away from the computer, his eyes blinking up at her. She quietly handed him her late slip, and a little note that she was a new student. He took it gingerly, holding it close up to his eyes. For someone that wore such thick glasses, he really did read things up closely.

"Yes, Miss Davis," he began, handing her the slip, "Welcome to Pre-Calculus. Now, take any one of the available seats, and I'll get you ready with your books and such." She smiled politely for the second time that day, but frowned suddenly when she had to sit somewhere. Turning around, she surveyed the class. It was a usual high school class. You had your geeks, the sluts, stoners, the jocks, and then the wannabees who were convinced that they were cooler than what everyone thought.

They were all staring at her now, whether they still had their pencils in their hands, or they're attention was completely on her, Brooke knew this would be one big awkward moment. Gulping, she spotted a seat in the middle of the middle row. Now that she had found a seat, Brooke actually had to sit her butt down in it.

Gripping her notebook in her left hand, Brooke slid her way to her seat, collapsing in it relievingly. As she sat there, she felt the looks that everyone in the class was giving her. She couldn't say that they were bad, it was just something you had to go through when you were new. It didn't mean she had to be okay with it though.

"You can relax you know. We're not going to bite you," a voice said from next to her. Broooke turned her head, seeing a girl seated next to her, with strawberry blonde hair.

Brooke smiled, "Could've fooled me. I'm Brooke," she said, hoping that she could make a friend, or maybe even an acquaintance. Either way, she girl looked nice. Maybe she was a nerd.

The girl smiled back at her, "I'm Haley. So what brings you to boring old Tree Hill."

"I don't even know," Brooke shrugged. "I moved here from California, and my parents thought that we needed time away from all the hustle and bustle."

Haley chucked quietly, "Well you came to the right place. Nothing ever really happens here; makes it kind of boring for us teenagers."

"Alright class," Mr. Hoyt said, standing up from his desk. "Now if you all would get into pairs and continue working on the assignment, I'll be in the teacher's lounge." And with that, he picked up his coffee mug and walked out of the room. Brooke looked on in confusion, watching everyone move their desks together and continue working.

"So you mean to tell me that the teacher leaves the classroom, and everyone still works on the assignment?" she asked incredulously.

Haley shrugged, "Yeah, kind of surprising, isn't it? You see, we're all stuck here by our parents' plans to have a small quiet life. The only way out is college, which that being said, there's no way we can make it out of this town if we don't have college to fall back on. So, we study and get the best grades that we can, maybe some scholarships here and there."

"Wow, this is way different than California," Brooke stated, helping Haley move their desks together.

"I'll bet. So where do you live anyway?"

"I think it's Cherry St. It's that big white house with the red door," Brooke explained.

"Nice house," Haley nodded. "I've been wondering when someone's going to move in there. I live in the next street."

"So I'm guessing everyone lives near everyone," she assumed. Everyone else was working around them, but Brooke and Haley was continued to talking about Brooke's life, what there was to do around the boring town of Tree Hill. From what Brooke could gather, there wasn't much, but you kind of had to deal with it.

Before she knew it the bell had rung, signaling second period. Everyone picked up their books and moved their desks back together before exiting the room. She felt better to walk out of the classroom with someone else with her, even though Haley didn't seem like the person who went looking for friends. If anything, Brooke figured she had a whole group of them. It seemed that news of a new girl roaming the halls had been passed down by the end of first period, because even more people seemed to be staring at her and whispering behind her back. She was used to it, people talking about her, but it was a lot stranger when they were talking about how pretty she was or how expensive her shoes were.

"What's your next class?" Haley asked. Brooke handed her the schedule sheet. Haley examined it, "Looks like we have the next four classes together, including lunch and study hall."

"Really?" Brooke asked, thinking that her luck was finally turning around.

Haley nodded, "Yeah, so now we're off to English Literature, Mrs. Kwan. Now I would catch up on your reading skills. We have to do book reports twice a month, and every quarter we have to do a project. Most of us just do basic book reports, but if your're a real nerd, you do actual projects, posterboard and all."

"What kind of projects do you do?" Brooke asked, entering Room 127.

Haley smirked, "Posterboard and all." They approached another desk where a strict asian woman sat, once again, typing on a computer.

"Uhm. Mrs. Kwan?" Haley asked. "This is Brooke Davis. She's a new student here."

Mrs. Kwan looked Brooke up and down before smiling, "Welcome to English Lit. I'll have Haley here help you around today. Sit wherever you'd like."

As they turned around to take a seat, Brooke mumbled, "So is she a teacher that actually teaches?"

Haley nodded, "Oh yeah. You actually have to listen and pay attention. Her tests are a bitch." As they laughed a group of guys entered the classroom, and Brooke had to say, they were certainly something to look at. One thing was for sure, they were all very good looking. Haley followed Brooke's eyes, smirking at her new friend's reaction.

"Don't drool," she stated, opening up her book to the page they left off. This didn't really surprise her. Hell, Haley did it too everytime they entered a room.

Brooke looked away, "Wow, is all I can say." They dressed nicely, their muscular arms revealed by their fitted shirts. Brooke had seen her fair share of guys, but this group seemed to be the best things she had seen since she had landed in the godforsaken town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. They seemed to be laughing at a joke that one of them said.

"You and just about every other girl in this school," Haley explained as the bell rang.

**X.X.X**

Lunch could have not gotten there soon enough. After sitting through an hour of Mrs. Kwan talking about nothing more than The Great Gatsby and the immense amount of homework from it, she had taken to staring at the crew of boys that had caught her eye from the second they walked in. Not only were they hot, but they were really smart too, answering every question that Mrs. Kwan had asked them. Brooke thought that she could actually find some peace in her Spanish class. Which, unfortunately, wasn't the case. Mrs. Rodriguez had showered them with homework as well, making them conjugate a hundred verbs into the imperfect tense. It was something that Brooke was familiar with, but not a hundred times in a row.

Luckily she had Haley in all those classes, and the whole learning process wasn't so boring and hard anymore. Haley had spent the last two classes filling Brooke in on just about everybody at Tree Hill High. She explained all he different groups of people, the scandals that they had all been apart of, and whether or not to avoid, or enter with caution. Although it was a small school in a small town, it wasn't that different than school in California. But she guessed it was the same everywhere else, it didn't matter where you were.

They were sitting at a picnic table a little away from all the noise and the jocks in the middle of a deep arm wrestling fight. Brooke picked at her double cheeseburger and fries, her nerves still getting in the way of her appetite. Haley was eating while highlighting stuff in her English book. Brooke stared at her.

"So you weren't kidding when you said you did those posterboard projects," Brooke smirked.

Haley looked up from her book, "Yeah, well I got to find a way to get out of here somehow. What with my younger sisters complete prodigies, and my older sister a train wreck, I have to find a way out of that house. Otherwise, I think I'll strangle myself to death or something."

Brooke chuckled, looking around the courtyard, "Okay, so I know you have some friends. Right?"

Haley nodded, "What did you take me for? I am a nerd, but I do have friends. They're right there actually." Brooke turned her head to see a blonde and a red head making their way past all the different tables. Some guys turned to slap them on the rear, causing them to roll their eyes in disgust. They seemed like they got that a lot, and they had learned to not care.

"Haley! Could you be anymore of a dork than you already are," the red head said, taking a seat at the table. She looked like one of the girls that Brooke used to get into it with. Those girls that were just like her, which made it all the more interesting to deal with. The blonde had wiry hair, and was wearing a concert T-shirt, jeans, and converses. Somewhat of a loner.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Rachel we've been over this time and time again. Oh guys this is Brooke Davis, she's new here."

Rachel cocked her eyebrow, "Davis? So you're the family that moved into that house with the red door."

"Uhm, yeah?" Brooke said, not really knowing what that meant.

"Oh sorry. I live right next door to you. I'm Rachel Gattina," she said, offering her manicured hand. Brooke took it. Rachel examined her hands, "French manicure. Cute."

Brooke smiled, "Thanks." The way she saw it, this relationship with Rachel Gattina could go two ways. One being they could be the best of friends. Or, they were more alike than Brooke had originally thought, and pretty soon they would go on to bitching each other out everyday, and they wouldn't be friends. But Brooke was hoping it was the first one.

Rachel nodded towards the blonde, "And this is Peyton Sawyer. Sorry for her rudeness, she's currently busy staring at Lucas Scott."

Peyton glared at her, "Why don't you shut up Rachel. Hi Brooke," she said, before turning her head in the opposite direction.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Okay, I can't stand this anymore. I'm going to go look for my Chemistry homework. Peyton, you should go look for a life."

Peyton once again glared at Rachel before getting up and walking towards the source of her all her attention. Rachel smirked at the blonde before getting up and walking towards the entrance fo the building. Haley looked on in amusement as she watched her friends walk away from each other. Brooke looked on in confusion.

"Okay, so what just happened?" Brooke asked, suddenly feeling like this was a daily occurrance.

Haley smirked, "Don't freak out too much over it. It happens all the time. Peyton's obsessed, Rachel's just honest about it."

"What is Peyton so obsessed about?" Brooke asked, turning around to see where Peyton had went. She had gone across to the table in the corner, where the object of her affections during English were sitting, looking cool with their sunglasses on, acting like they didn't have a care in the world.

"I told you every girl in this school was in love with them," she said, closing her book and capping her highlighter.

Brooke looked at her, "You never told me their story."

Haley shrugged, "You never asked." Just as they said that, one of the boys from the 'Cool Crew,' Brooke had dubbed them, walking up to them with a neon yellow piece of paper. He was even more good looking with every step that he took, his brown hair blowing in the wind. He was wearing a vintage T-shirt with dark wash jeans and Converses.

"Hey Jake," Haley greeted, smiling up at him. The way they were talking, Brooke could've thought they knew each other, which made it all the more confusing. It seemed that Haley James had a lot more connections and friends than Brooke had originally thought. Maybe geeks were just as well known as the jocks or the sluts.

Jake cracked a smile slipping his shades off, revealing his honey colored eyes, "Hey James, what's up?"

"Nothing really, just eating lunch. This is Brooke by the way, she's new here," she stated, causing Brooke to glare at her new friend.

Jake looked at her thoughtfully, "So you're the new girl. Well I'm Jake. Welcome to Tree Hill."

Brooke smiled, "Thanks." That was all she could say, his eyes mesmerizing her.

"So," he began, sitting down at the table, "there's this little thing going on over at the Pit, it's a couple of miles outside town, near the Blue Post. You guys should check it out."

Haley looked at him knowingly, "This thing being a match or something? No thanks Jake, we're not interested."

"Come on Hales," Jake began. "It's the Scott brothers both in action Friday night. It's going to be complete chaos, in a good way, and if you're not there you're seriously missing out."

Haley smiled sweetly, "If we promise to think about it, will you leave it alone?"

Jake shrugged, "Okay, I guess I can live with that. But I got to run, see you guys later." He set the flyer down on the picnic table before standing up, pulling his shades back down, and walking towards the table he came from. Seated there was a blonde who stared at Brooke intently, causing her to blush and turn around.

"No offense, but what's so bad about going to this thing Friday night?" Brooke asked innocently, looking at the flyer Jake had left.

Haley chuckled, "Oh you obviously have no idea who those guys are."

Brooke smirked, "I do know that they're absolutely gorgeous, and from the way you were talking to Jake, you know him too. So, what's the scoop, you can't keep this from me any longer."

Haley sighed, nodding Brooke over to the boys, "Alright, so the guy that just came up here is Jake Jagielski. Not only is he gorgeous, but he sings too. Double whammy."

"Ooh, I like," she joked.

"And the biggest guy over there? That's Owen Revels. He used to be a drug addict, which caused him to fail junior year once. But he turned it all around and still looks good."

Brooke looked at the other two guys left over, the boys with the most dreamy eyes she had ever seen, "And what about the last two?"

Haley smirked, "Those are the ever famous Scott brothers. They're fraternal twins, the dark haired one is Nathan and the blonde is Lucas. Those four are just as known around here as the jocks. One thing's for sure; everyone's scared shitless of them, especially the Scott brothers."

"Why?" Brooke asked.

"Because of what they do," Haley shrugged. "They're involved in the mixed martial arts, think UFC fighting without the whole association."

"Why do they do it. I mean, they don't look like they really need anything to fight for," Brooke said.

"Oh believe me they wouldn't be living the high life if they didn't do it. Those boys get thousands of dollars each fight," Haley explained.

"So they fight for the money?" Brooke assumed.

Haley shrugged, "I couldn't tell you. But Nathan and Lucas' father Keith died a couple of years ago in a car accident, it left them all devastated. Their mother, Karen, was so hurt and heartbroken over it that she just had to get out of this town. So now she's traveling around the world, leaving Lucas and Nathan by themselves."

"Without any money or anything?" Brooke asked incredulously.

Haley chuckled, "No. Karen left them enough money to pay the bills and stuff. But Nathan and Lucas are teenagers, and they want to have their fun and buy what they want too."

"Sounds like the high life to me," Brooke said, staring at the group. "So if that's their deal, what the hell is with Peyton hanging around them?" Just as she asked that, Rachel came back with her notebook, wearing an accomplished expression on her face.

"Well, good thing there was a nerd standing around in the hallway. I got him to finish my Chemistry homework in ten minutes flat," she said, sitting back down.

Haley narrowed her eyes, "Define finished."

Rachel shrugged, "Okay, so I didn't do any of it. But he seemed like he was honored to do it all or something."

Haley shook her head as Brooke laughed, "Whatever Rachel. I was just about to tell Brooke about the love story of Lucas and Peyton..."

Just then Rachel busted out laughing. Haley chuckled at the sight while everyone around them gave them strange looks. Brooke just sat there, wondering what the hell had just happened. That seemed like it was going to be a daily thought while in Tree Hill. Rachel was holding onto her stomach, taking deep breaths. It wasn't until a minute later she finally composed herself.

"I don't get what's so funny," Brooke stated, watching Haley and Rachel chuckling.

Rachel smirked, "You have a lot to learn here New Girl. One being the story of Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer."

"What's the deal with them?" she asked, suddenly realizing that this town was going to be a lot more interesting than she had originally thought.

"You see, Lucas and Peyton are anything but a love story. And if they are, it's unrequited love on Peyton's part. The two of them used to date a couple of years ago. Then Nathan and Lucas started their whole fighting job, and their romance kind of fizzled and died out. Only probem is, Lucas is over it, but Peyton's not. Everytime Lucas is pissed off or upset, Peyton finds some way to be there when he's having those moments. They screw, Peyton thinks that they're going to get back together, but Lucas kicks her ass to the curb."

"In the most gentle of sense," Haley said. "Peyton still has this believe that her and Lucas are meant to be together. She's just having a hard time letting go."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Hales are you kidding me? It's been a year already, you would think Peyton would be over it by now, or at least moved on."

"Seriously," Brooke added, watching the group. Peyton was seated next to Lucas, taking in every word he was saying. Lucas was talking to Nathan, Jake, and Owen animatedly, not paying a single attention to the blonde girl next to him. Every once in awhile, she would say something to try to get Lucas' attention, but it never lasted for long.

"So you see, Brooke. Peyton's just a pathetic mess," Rachel ended.

"But she's still your guys' friend?" Brooke smirked.

Haley shrugged, "Well we can't exactly ditch her. Plus when she's not pining over Lucas, she actually seems like she has a life."

Rachel nodded, "Yeah, she's pretty cool to party with when she's not obsessing, which isn't that much."

"Alright Rachel so tell me, what's the big deal about going to this fight match on Friday? Jake came over to invite us to it, but Haley didn't seem too keen on going," Brooke said, staring at Haley from across the table. Haley just looked at Rachel.

"Well, if you like seeing guys shirtless and sweaty, then by all means, we should go," Rachel began. "But if you get grossed out by blood and bruised eyes, then you might want to stay home."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Brooke, I wasn't kidding when I said these guys fought in mixed martial arts competitions," Haley said.

Brooke shrugged, "I mean, is it really that bad?"

Rachel chuckled, "Oh yeah. It definitely gets a little intense. Haley can only stay in there for a couple of minutes. As for me, just the sight of Owen shirtless is enough to give me strength."

Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Brooke slipped her schedule sheet out from her back pocket, unfolding it to check her next class. Before she even had time to check a hand had snatched it away and Haley looked at her, "We have study hall next. It's in the library."

Brooke shook her head smiling, thankful that she had all these classes with Haley, "Alright, lead the way."

They were about to head back into the halls when Haley turned to Rachel, "Rach, are you comiing? You have study hall with us too."

Rachel looked at them, "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute. I'm just going to wait for Owen."

Haley rolled her eyes, "Of course, I shouldn't even be surprised. Alright we'll just see you in the library."

As they were walking away, Brooke turned around and watched the scene unfold. The big buff Owen was talking to Rachel, showing all signs and intentions of some major flirting action going on. Brooke watched in amusement, already almost having everybody figured out.

"The funny part is they both have study hall this same period too," Haley added, knowing what Brooke was thinking.

"So there's something going on with those two?" she asked as they walked towards the library.

"Hardly. They're not really in a relationship, but they somewhat like each other. Rachel doesn't want a committment and I don't think Owen does either. They just have their fun."

"So what? It's a friends with benefits kind of thing?" Brooke asked, entering the library. There were already a good number of students already there, either on the computer or seated at the tables, working in homework that they didn't want to do when they got home. Sitting behind the Media Center front desk was a tiny lady with wiry grey hair, wearing what seemed to be the latest fashion in the 50's. Something told her that this lady wasn't one to toy with either, no librarian ever was.

"You could say that," Haley said, sitting at an empty table. Brooke set her back down too before sitting down. Just then the four hotties walked in, along with Peyton and Rachel. Brooke watched them until they started another table, filling it up. She didn't know what it was about them, but Brooke could never take their eyes off them for long. They looked interesting, and what with their overall story embedded into her memory, Brooke wanted to know more.

"Okay," Brooke whispered, "So you say that those guys fight in mixed martial arts competitions? How do they know how to fight like that?"

"It's something that they've been working on ever since their mom left, and the fact that Owen kind of introduced the whole thing to the rest of them. There's this training gym on the outskirts of town, that's where they go almost everyday after school when they don't have a match that night."

"How do you know all of this? I mean, okay you're friends with Jake, but how is it that you know all this stuff?"

Haley chuckled, "Brooke everyone knows. In case you forgot, this is Tree Hill we're in, everybody knows everybody's business. Now I have some homework that I have to finish before I go to work today, so why don't you go on the computer and look up stuff about UFC fighting?"

"Why would I do that?" she asked.

"Because, maybe you can get some of your answers as to what they do? Believe me, how this fighting works is something I have no answers to."

Brooke glanced at the computers, "You know, I think I will." She stood up from her chair and made her way over to the set of computers. She didn't know what was possessing her to do this, but she wanted to know what was up with those boys. They fought for money, it brought them big bucks, but what did it bring them mentally, and how did they put up wth the physical part? These were all answered that she knew she wouldn't get out of an internet search, but she was curious, even more than she had been when she first saw them in English.

She typed in mixed martial arts on Google and clicked on the first result that she saw.

'Mixed martial arts is a full contact combat sport in which a wide variety of fighting techniques are used, including striking and grappling. Modern mixed martial arts tournaments as a popular phenomenon emerged in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, based on the concept of pitting different fighting styles against each other in competition with minimal rules in place, in an attempt to determine which system would be more effective in a real, unregulated combat situation.'

"Minimal rules?" she mumbled, scrolling down the page, revealing two people fighting in what looked like a cage, with nothing but shorts and gloves. She scunched her nose in disgust at all the pictures of guys with their eyes swollen like a grapefruit and blood seeping from their nose. "That's disgusting," she hissed.

"Yeah, it does get pretty gruesome," a voice said from behind her. Brooke gasped silently, minimizing the page before turning around. She was met with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. They were like crystal blue, sea blue, blue orbs. Just, blue. She almost fell off her stool. Lucas Scott.

"I'll bet. This is what you do, isn't it?" she asked, trying not to freak out. There was no doubt in her mind that Lucas Scott was one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen, and Brooke had met her hair share of hotties. His hair was short but spikey, going in all directions. He had a nice body from what she could see, his blue polo acsentuating his eyes, his dark jeans complimenting his nice butt. White sneakers peeked out from the bottom of them. Brooke was sold.

He looked at her, "Yeah, it is what I do. But the question is, why are you looking up mixed martial arts?"

Brooke shrugged, "No reason, besides the fact that it's all I hear around here. I was briefly filled in on your guys' occupations, frankly I didn't see what the big deal was about, so I looked it up." That was partly the reason. She really did hear about it a lot, whether she was talking to Haley or walking around the halls, she heard of the Scott brothers, which made Brooke ever more interested in the sport, if you wanted to call it that.

"So you know our story?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Somewhat," Brooke said. "Haley's been showing me around."

Lucas chuckled, "So you know our story. Haley smart, she knows a lot more than people give her credit for."

"You guys are friends?" Brooke asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, we've been going to the same school since we were little. Her parents were always really nice to me and my brother."

"Well she didn't mention that," Brooke mumbled, making a mental note to talk to Haley about knowing the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on.

"I'm sure she was getting to that eventually. You are the new girl," Lucas smirked. Brooke looked at him confused. "I mean, I know you're story too."

She cocked her eyebrow, "You know my story? I didn't know I had one."

Lucas nodded, "Oh yeah, everybody's got a story around here. You were living the high life in California. Your parents decided to switch to a 'quiet, small town enviroment,'" he quoted with his fingers, "Which brings you here to Tree Hill, the absolutely perfect place for something like that."

Brooke smiled, "Yeah, that's kind of it in a nutshell."

"Yeah. But I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves. I'm Lucas," he said, holding out his hand.

Brooke smirked before taking his hand, "I know. I'm Brooke."

"I know," he said, his eyes mesmerizing her. Brooke shook herself out of it before she completely embarassed herself. Sad to have to let go of his hand, she dug into her backpocket, taking out the bright yellow flyer that Jake had given her earlier at lunch.

"So your friend Jake came over at lunch and gave this to me. He said I should check it out. Is it something worth watching?" she asked. Lucas took the flyer and examined it.

He smirked, "Yeah, Jake's always trying to advertise these things. I mean, yeah, it's nothing more than regular matches, except for one thing.."

"What's that?"

"Me and my brother are both fighting that night," he shrugged.

Brooke smirked, "Are you sure you're not fighting each other?"

His face fell before recovering, smiling, "I guess we have to hope that won't happen. But anyways, yeah, you should check it out. I mean besides from the fact that there's blood and stuff like that, it's pretty fun to watch. You might be able to win some money over it."

"Will I win some if I bet on you?" she asked.

Lucas smiled, "Definitely. I'll see you around, Brooke Davis."

His smile captivated her. As she watched him go back to his table, she could've sworn she saw Peyton give her a dirty look. Brooke turned back to the computer, exiting out of the window. Frankly she didn't care of Peyton hated her now or not. It wasn't like she did anything wrong. Lucas had came up to her, so she was held not responsible. Right?

"So, did you find anything?" Haley asked as Brooke sat back down.

"You could say that. I can't believe you didn't tell me that you knew Lucas!" Brooke hissed.

Haley looked at her, "You never asked, so I never told. And you talked to Lucas?"

"Yeah, it was pretty amazing. He saw me looking up mixed martial arts on Google, and we just started talking."

"Talking or flirting?" Haley asked.

Brooke smirked, "Both. Oh Haley he is so gorgeous."

"He has that effect on people," she said.

"And you don't feel the same way?"

"Brooke, I've known Lucas for a long time. I stopped reacting like that when I was 6," Haley explained.

"Oh, well he's still gorgeous. I think Peyton's got it out for me now though," she stated, pulling out her notebook.

Haley smirked, "Of course, you talk to Lucas for maybe five minutes, and Peyton feels threatened."

"But, he doesn't like her, does he?"

"Brooke, no, he doesn't. She's just convinced that he's going to take her back one of these days. She's the only one that thinks that."

Brooke shook her head, "Alright, whatever. So Lucas formally invited me to his match on Friday."

"And something tells me that you're going to drag me to it also, right?" Haley said, closing her book.

"Haley, you know me so well," she answered sweetly.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Brooke, I've known you for less than 24 hours, and something tells me that this is going to be a daily reoccurrence."

"I feel the exact same way. So, are we going Friday night or what?"

"I guess we can go," Haley sighed.

"Sweet!" Brooke squealed. "Lucas said that the reason it's going to be pretty good is because him and his brother are fighting that same night."

Haley shrugged, "Yeah I mean I could see why it would be good. Lucas and Nathan are really good fighters, it's going to be crazy Friday night."

"I guess I'll see first hand how this thing works, won't I?"

"Looks like it." Just then Rachel sat down next to Haley and took out her Blackberry, typing furiously on it. Haley put her pencil down and looked at Rachel.

"Okay, why the hell would you walk away from Owen, just to come over here to send a text message to somebody?" Haley asked.

Rachel glanced up from her phone, "I'm sending a text to Peyton to get the fuck over it so Brooke can move in on Lucas."

Brooke's eyes bulged, "Rachel! Listen, I know I don't really know you, but are you trying to get me in trouble or something??"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm hardly getting you into trouble. I saw that little exchange go on by the computers. You're totally into him, and he seems to like you too. Plus, I can't really send a text messge to Peyton just for her to get it two seconds later when we're at the same table. It would look suspicious, and Peyton would totally have a bitch fit on me, and we can't have that either. So, I mentioned something about getting some notes from Haley, and here I am."

"Are you sure that's a good idea Rachel? I mean, Peyton's our friend, and what kind of friend would you be if you were to send that text to her?"

"One that's honest, and that's something that Peyton needs right now. This has one going on for too long, and what with Brooke here, it's the perfect time for her to let it all go."

"But we talked ONCE," Brooke emphasized, "and that happened to be all of ten minutes ago!"

"So?" Rachel shrugged. "You obviously like him, so what's the problem? There. Send."

"Oh my gosh Rachel," Brooke mumbled, burying her head in her hands.

Haley glared at Rachel, "I can't believe you sent that. It's the girl's first day and you want her hated?."

Rachel stood up, "Hey, you'll be thanking me eventually. I got to go find somebody else to finish my History homework." As she watched Rachel exit the library, Brooke realized that the red head was going to be a lot to handle, alot like herself. It was obvious that Rachel was not content anymore than she had to be.

"Something tells me she's going to cause me problems," Brooke said. But if it gave her a chance with Lucas, then maybe Rachel was a godsend, or something like that.

Haley smirked, "You're catching on. Psh, finish her History homework, more like do her History homework."


	3. Fighter Boy

Chapter 3;; Fighter Boy

It was first opened for nothing more than a place to just work out and not care about anything. The founder, Vince Princept, just wanted somewhere where he could find some peace, and if he couldn't find that, there was certainly an area where he could take out the reason he didn't have peace in the first place. People passed out from the heat, or other things. After a couple of hours, they would get up, and go again. That was how it worked, and that was probably why people kept on coming back. There was no pressure, or obligations, you were just there. Some people needed to be just there instead of all over the place. And still, forty years later, run by an even bigger scumbag, Cooper Stanley, it still held that safe haven for people that were a lot more scared of their strength capabilities than a normal person should ever possess.

The Pit was something that you wouldn't think would look anything more than an old abandoned building, with the paint chipped to the point where you couldn't tell what color it actually was. To others, it might be a storage building, where nothing was ever held. The parking lot was huge, but nobody really thought much about it. After all, it was on the outskirts of town, and the only types of people that went around there was if they were looking for a good drink at the Blue Post. The place looks like an all around shit hole, holding absolutely no value for anybody in the world. Hell, the pipes didn't even look like they worked, and the double entrance doors looked jammed.

But when you took a step inside, you would see a whole different reality, one that you could really get use to. Every night except Sunday, the parking lots were filled with different types of cars. Different, but all the same. They all cost thousands of dollars just for the actual car, and about a couple of million more to soup it up and make expensive additions to the vehicle. There was motorcycles, with turbo power tanks that would put The Fast and Furious to shame. Being near such a small town, it was hard to imagine that there were that many people with such nice of cars. If you were one of those people that would drive hours to see a match and win a bet, then you were at The Pit.

The Pit consisted of two levels. Everywhere you looked, there were numerous work out equipment, ranging from just about every single piece of equipment imaginable. There were hundreds of punching bags that lined around both floor levels. There was barely ever air conditioning. The only time you felt cold was when it was winter, and even then it wasn't enough to snap your head out of the sauna you felt you were standing around in. Mats were placed everywhere, because you never knew when you would have to grapple down.

When you first entered, the first thing you saw was a large stage, and set right in the very front was a set of turn tables, along with five wall stereo systems, that would knock you over if you had it on full blast. On the second floor it wasn't any different, except there was a small track for running. The second floor also happened to have plasma screens docked to the top of the ceiling so you could watch what was going on down below. When there were matches, the track was covered, and benches were placed for the people that didn't want to get their hands dirty. So the Pit looked like nothing but an old builing on the outside, but on the inside, it was a lot more than that.

The only thing that The Pit didn't have was a standard bathroom, or even a locker room. There was one, but Cooper had torn it apart so he could make his own office. Now they had all resulted to a small room that held a sink and a stall, along with all of one bench. It was funny, Cooper would spent tons of money to make The Pit look kick ass, but he couldn't even have a regular bathroom. He was that big of an idiot when it came to stuff like that. But with money, Cooper Stanley never played around.

"Do you think Cooper's trying to set us up?" Lucas asked suddenly. Him and Nathan had already packed up their gear and was on their way to The Pit for an early warm up. They were in Nathan's black Range Rover. Nathan had to fight three matches with Adam Horton to get enough money to buy it.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked, speeding down the highway.

Lucas shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, we both have matches tonight, and Cooper didn't tell us with who. What if we have to fight with each other?"

"I don't think we'd be fighting each other, Luke. Cooper's not that stupid. We're going to lose money, and if we lose money, Cooper loses money..."

"And Cooper loves his money," Lucas mumbled. "Yeah I think you're right. It's just that ever since I talked to Brooke on Monday, I can't help but think Cooper's trying to pull something."

Nathan smirked, "How about we not talk about that? Who's Brooke?"

"You know, the new girl. She has long brown hair, olive green eyes, adorable dimples."

"So you mean she's gorgeous?" Nathan asked, glancing at him.

Lucas smiled, "Yeah, she really is."

"If that's the case, yeah I know her. I was just waiting for you to admit she was gorgeous," Nathan chuckled.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. I invited her tonight," he mentioned, changing the radio station.

"Oh really?" Nathan asked. "Are you looking to hang out with Brooke tonight?"

Lucas shrugged, "I don't know. I'd hardly call us friends. We just talked once, and that was on Monday."

"Sometimes that's all you need," Nathan said. "Maybe if you start hanging out with Brooke more than Peyton will get the hint and lay off."

"But it's not like I haven't tried that before. I've been around tons of girls, and she still doesn't let up. If anything, it makes her more determined."

"Whatever, Luke. Plus those other girls were just little flings, they didn't mean anything. Brooke seems like a cool chick."

Pulling into the parking lot, there was already a good number of cars already there. Parked on the side of the building was a large truck, probably hauling fresh new mats that Lucas and Nathan would soon be fighting on. This was when their stomachs really started feeling sick.

"What time do you think you go on?" Lucas asked, nodding their heads at the two big bald guys stations at the entrance.

Nathan shrugged, "Who knows. Cooper never said anything. He just said be here at the regular time, and here we are at 6:30." Entering the building, the boys stood on the middle of probably the more silent of chaos imaginable. There were guys in uniforms, slowing unrolling the mat, making sure every bit of the floor was covered up. Up on the stage, their buddy, Skills and Mouth, were up on the turn tables, picking out records and arranging the music for later that night. Cooper was all the way up on the second floor, making sure the workers completely covered the track. He glanced down below and saw the two boys.

"Hey Scotts! Get your asses up here. I got to talk to you about something!" Cooper yelled from above. Lucas and Nathan looked up at him before rolling their eyes, heading to the side elevator. Why they needed an elevator with a building that was two stories, they would never know. Plus, many people had gotten sick in that elevator, along with other things, and it wasn't a pleasant smell. It was almost as bad as the 'bathroom.'

"I wonder what he wants," Nathan mumbled as the elevator doors opened.

"Probably something about the bets on us or something," Lucas answered just s Cooper waas approaching him.

"Boys, how you doin'?" Cooper asked, a big grin on his face.

Nathan's eyes narrowed, "We're fine. Now what's this you wanted to talk to us about?"

"Oh that," he said. "Let's go down to my office."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "So you made us come up here just to go back down to your freaking office??"

Cooper smirked, "It looks that way, Luke." Nathan sighed. It was times like these when he seriously considered getting a normal job that didn't include Cooper Stanley as his boss. It was only the little stuff like this that was enough to make him want to deck him in the face, haul him into the dumpster, and be send to a junkyard to be eaten by flies and other insects. Gruesome, and not necessarily right, but that's what he was feeling right now.

Out of everything else inside The Pit, Cooper's office had seemed to be the most extravagant. He had purchased an authentic Chinese rosewood desk shipped from China, with two plasma screen television sets decked on two corners of the room. There was a expensive black leather couch resting on the side, along with a mini entertainment set with an XBox 360 game systerm set up. On the other side, there was a tall table that held a pitcher of water and another of alcohol.

Nathan dropped his bag on the floor, taking a seat on the leather couch, "Okay seriously Cooper, what more do you want from us?"

"Listen, I know it may be contrary to what you may believe, but I like you guys. You're both strong, young, and you got a lot of drive that I don't even want to know where you got it from. But this whole, talking back to me shit? Yeah, that's got to stop if you want to continue fighting here. I realized earlier this week that you guys are getting by way too easily than most of the guys. So, things are going to be a little different here," Cooper explained.

"Like what?" Lucas asked, knowing that this was probably going to be something stupid.

Cooper shrugged, "Well, for starters, you guys need to make an impact on these matches tonight. And if you don't, then it's going to get a little bit harder for you guys to get matches at The Pit. Another thing, you have to start training here four days in the week. I don't care which days, just come four days. Oh, and you're going to have to watch your mouths."

"How are you going to pull that off?" Nathan asked. "We know damn well that we're the only ones that draw everybody to this place. And we're also the main reason you have the luxury of being in such a nice office, and having money. And you expect us to drive out here four days out of the week just to train for like an hour? That's bullshit, Cooper."

"Now, you see," Cooper began, pointing at Nathan, "This is your guys' problem right there. You know, I'm not that much older than you guys, but when I was growing up, there were times when you just had to shut the fuck up and take the damn heat. You just had one of those times. I guess you weren't as smart as I thought."

Lucas sighed, "Alright Cooper we see what you mean. We'll be here tomorrow morning." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Cooper was right. Nathan was constantly running his mouth every second of every day. The reason he was still like this was because no one ever had the guts to shut him up. But if they still wanted to be making big bucks, then Lucas would personally make sure that Nathan shut the fuck up. Every time.

Cooper smirked, "That's what I like to hear. Now gear up, something tells me you're going to need all the time you can get."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he followed Lucas out of the office. It had took just about everything in him to verbally chew the shit out of Cooper, and then physically beat the living hell out of him. As they stood in the nauseous elevator, he felt his brother looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. It was in disappointment, Nathan knew it. Ever since they were little, Lucas was always the sensible one, and while Nathan just did what he wanted at the time, Lucas always thought things out. In this case, it was good.

"Alright," Nathan sighed. "I know you want to give me some lecture now."

"I don't want to give you a lecture. Plus I think you already know what I would say to you."

"Okay fair enough," Nathan said. "Gawd Cooper just knows how to piss me off every single time."

Between the time it had took them to ride up the elevator and finish talking to Cooper, a crowd of people had already showed up, either placing last minute bets or just barely containing their excitement. Nathan and Lucas walked briskly past all of them and into the changing room, where Jake and Owen already were. There were a couple of other guys there as well, but none that really liked the Scott brothers. Almost no one did at The Pit. Either they had gotten the shit beat out of them, they were intimidated, or they were jealous.

"Dude where the hell have you two been?" Jake asked.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Cooper wanted to talk to us about our attitudes." Nathan shook his head in anger as he set his bag down and started unzipping it.

Owen scoffed, "Sounds like him. The bouncers in the front said they heard I was fighting Smith."

"Tim!?" Nathan exclaimed. "Damn you, man. You're getting off easy tonight. No doubt you'll get double. It doesn't take much for that guy to give up."

Jake nodded, "Yeah, he's just another wannabe who thinks he can beat it with the best of them."

Owen smirked, "That's true. But at least it'll be fun."

**X.X.X**

"Alright, so where exactly is this place at?" Brooke asked, seated in the backseat of Rachel's black Denali. They had settled on a quiet silence, only listening to the music blasting from Rachel's Pioneer sound system. It had been a long drive, and Brooke was wondering where the hell this place was at.

"It's on the outskirts of town," Rachel explained. "We can't exactly have The Pit around town, can we? It's just right here." As she said that, they pulled into a very crowded parking lot. There were people hanging out near their cards, either smoking or just plain talking until the matches started. Brooke scrunched her nose in disgust at the look of the building. The red stripe that had been painted around the building was chipped, and on some parts you could barely see it.

"This place looks like a shit hole," Brooke stated, sliding out of the car, pulling down her jean skirt. Prior to Haley and Rachel picking them up, she had a trip trying to figure out what she should wear. Seriously, what did you wear to a Fight Night? So, she decided on a jean skirt, a white tank top, and a matching jean jacket with wedges. Her hair was in loose curls and her make up was smokey. She had been lucky, since Haley and Rachel, along with every other girl were wearing something similar.

Rachel chuckled, "Yeah, but this is just a cover up. Wait till we get inside." She took the lead, taking long strides as they briskly passed the bouncers, who only looked at them for their attractiveness, not because they weren't supposed to be going in.

Haley nudged Brooke, "We're from THH, so they let us pass. Plus the guys kind of get us in for free."

"I'm beginning to realize that you two are a lot closer to these guys than you said," Brooke stated. Taking a look around the whole place, you would never think the outside looked like it did. There were people dancing around to the music that the DJ was playing at the time. You wouldn't think there would be fights here either.

"There's a lot to figure out about this town," was all Haley said before they were approached by a African American guy that had jumped from the stage.

"What's up, Skills?" Rachel asked.

"Not much, Red. I've been told beforehand to make sure you guys get kickass seats," Skills said. "They're right up there on the second floor."

"Who set this up?" Haley asked, glancing at Brooke, clearing knowing who it was.

Skills smirked, "My man Luke. He said to be expecing you guys." Haley and Rachel both looked at Brooke, knowing that it was because of her that they would get such a good view of what was going on. Brooke continued to stand there, somewhat embarassed but at the same time, excited.

"Great, so where are these seats?" Brooke asked.

"Take the elevator up, there's three seats reserved in the front row," Skills said before disappearing through the crowd back onto the stage.

"Hey Davis, maybe you should flirt with Lucas more often," Rachel said as they sat down in their seats, getting a clear view of just about everything in the building.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Alright, so when does thing start?" And just as she said that, the whole building went completely black, and there was no light except on a guy with dark brown hair that was wearing a blazer and a chesire cat grin on his face. Not exactly a guy that you would want to be around.

"That's Cooper Stanley," Haley stated. "He runs the place and controls how much money each fighter gets. Then there's the fact that he's complete scum-bag and tries to rip the guys off as much as he can."

Brooke turned to Haley, "Alright, so I have you ask. How the hell do you guys know all this stuff?"

"What do you mean?" Haley and Rachel asked simultaneously.

"So far I've been here for a week now, and you guys seem to know everybody's business, all the way down to the people that don't even go to our school. And I know you're probably going to say it's because it's a small town, but that cannot be an excuse for everything that you guys know."

"Well Rachel hooks up with Owen, and Owen's part of the whole crowd, so usually I know the stuff about the guys from her," Haley stated.

"And Haley's family goes way back with just about every other family in town," Rachel said.

"But for the record, there's a lot of stuff that we don't know."

"But we know most of everything," Rachel smirked. Brooke just shook her head.

"Okay, so I guess I can let you guys off. It's just that you know so much..."

"Believe me Brooke, by the time senior year's over, you're going to know just as much as we do," Haley said.

Rachel nodded, standing up, "I'm going to go get some drinks. What do you guys want, and I swear Haley if you ask for soda or fruit punch, I will bitch slap you."

Haley rolled her eyes, "Alright fine, just get me a Jack and Coke. Brooke, what do you want?"

"Wait, there's a bar here?" she asked, looking around.

"Yeah, down below. It's in the corner because most fights can escalade beyond the circle," Rachel explained.

"Okay, um, I'll have the same thing."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Gawd you guys are so weird. I'm getting you something else." And with that she disappeared among the sea of people leaving the elevator.

Brooke had to admit, the place was crowded as hell. There was so many people that she didn't even think they were all from the area. Some were dressed like they owned the place, and others looked like they were just looking for an opportunity to win money. The whole time, she was wondering where all the fighters were, because it really looked like a hip nightclub that they were sitting above. Everyone was dancing, and it didn't look like there was going to be any fighting going on that night. But she had spoken too soon.

"ARE YOU GUYS READY?!" Cooper yelled into the microphone, causing everybody to yell and scream at the top of their lungs. "Alright good, because tonight is going to be crazy. First off, we got the big and bad Owen Revels against pussy-face Tim Smith! Believe me people, Smith's shaking in his boxing gloves as we speak."

Brooke furrowed her eyebrows, "Is he allowed to talk like that about the fighters?"

Haley chuckled, "Cooper's the owner of the place. He can say whatever he wants, and believe me, he does."

"Next, we have Jake Jagielski against Chase Adams. Now I must say, our next two are definitely ones that will get your fat asses off the ground! We have Nathan Scott grappling up with Chris Keller! And, for the final match of the night, Lucas Scott hitting it up with Felix Taggaro!"

Rachel chuckled, "Oh Brooke you are so lucky you came tonight. Damn, I should've bet money." She handed Haley her drink and then gave Brooke hers. She didn't even have to really take a sip before she knew just what it was. Brooke was new in town, but she still had her little secrets.

"You got me a Long Island Ice Tea?" Brooke asked, smirking.

Rachel shrugged, "So what? Something tells me that you'd be used to it."

"I am. I just thought you'd make it a little bit more interesting."

"I did. There's a little extra something in there." Brooke curiously took a sip, squinting her eyes at the strength of the drink. There was definitely a little something in there alright.

"Don't go drinking her into a stupor Rach. Remember we still have to take her home, and I have a feeling I'll be driving us all back," Haley realized.

"Other than the fact that Lucas and Nathan are both fighting, what's so different about tonight?" Brooke asked over the noise.

"It's who they're fighting," Haley stated, just as music started and Owen and Tim emerged from the crowd, wearing nothing but their fighting shorts. On both of them were boxing gloves and wraps around their feet. Owen looked determined and fearless, and Tim, well, you could imagine what he was feeling at that moment.

"Oh my gosh, Owen's so hot," Rachel squealed, now on the edge of her seat.

"Is this really fair?" Brooke asked, somewhat scared for Tim's life.

Haley shrugged, "Hardly. Everyone knows that Owen can crush skulls. But when you run your mouth on a daily basis like Tim does, you're kind of asking for it."

**X.X.X**

The sounds that were beating into the closed room were so loud that he couldn't hear himself think. He was pretty sure they were all already drunk, and some had long passed out among the crowds of other people who didn't care. He sighed inwardly, rubbing his hands together, exhaling slowly. He was alone, the guys and everybody else already having fought their fight for the night. And he was the main event.

Ever since him and Nathan started fighting, Lucas had developed the mentality to not care what happened to the other guy. They didn't matter. All that mattered was that they could still walk with their two feet, and they had a sack full of money. Everytime they went out there, they were determined to beat the other guy senseless. It wasn't really morally right, but Lucas had tried to forget the different between right and wrong. What with the Scott smirk and looks playing into their hands, Lucas and Nathan were crowd favorites, whether it was their arrogance on the mat, or their chiseled bodies.

He sighed again, beginning to wrap his feet, which would feel the sting in only a couple of moments, colliding with a rib or jaw. His stomach was starting to twist, the guilt of hurting someone catching up with him in advance. He didn't think Nathan ever felt like that, because his brother was definitely not one to feel sorry for people.

Lucas smirked at the thought of Owen beating the crap out of Tim an hour before. Tim had it coming, and so did Chris Keller when Nate would finish him off with a clothesline straight across the throat. Or at least something like that. Jake and Chase were just a random pair, but they were definitely crowd pleasers. What with serenadist Jake and the artsy skater Chase, they were bound to collide sooner or later, and everyone at school knew that.

The only thing about tonight that really irked him was the fact that he was fighting Felix Taggaro. They went way back, so far back that their vendetta against each other was still alive and strong. Lucas could never lie; Felix was good. But Lucas was confident that he would be able to take technique and hunger before anger. He always did.

The door swung open, revealing his brother, grinning like an idiot. And like he had predicted, Nathan had nothing but a measly scratch above his eye, but Lucas didn't think it could've gone any worse. Lucas smirked, watching Nathan sit down next to him, already pulling a shirt out of his bag.

"I'm not even going to ask how Keller's doing," Lucas stated.

"Then don't," Nathan said. "Asshole tried clawing at my eye."

"Well he missed alright," Lucas said, glancing at the scratch above his brother's eye.

Nathan stood up, "Cooper told me to tell you that you should make your way out there in five minutes."

Lucas nodded, standing up too, slipping on a black button up shirt, "Are you walking me out?"

Nathan chuckled, grabbing Lucas' gloves, "Are you kidding me? I bet 600 that you would beat Taggaro with a KO."

"Thanks Nate," he said, rolling his eyes. "So what? Are we going out there now?"

"If you're ready," Nathan shrugged, opening up the door. The noise was a lot more deafening. It was so loud that Lucas almost had to cover his ears. But he was used to it. Just one glance from a person in the back was all it took for the whole building to erupt once again.

Some people believed that you have split personalities. One, is the person you are to the world, and another is who you are to yourself and the people that matter. Lucas could never figure out which one was which. Apart of him knew that he was good at fighting, the part that wanted to take advantage of it for as long as he could, because of what it brought him. When you're young, a teenager, at least, wanting things is a constant. Lucas wanted a lot of things out of life, and the key to getting those things was money. Him and his brother needed the money, and Lucas would act like an asshole for the nights like these.

With Nathan right behind him, Lucas began to remember what it felt like to want money, and what with the confident look of Felix, who was already surrounded in a circle by the crowd, Lucas was never more ready. He was already unbuttoning his shirt, the screams from the girls more apparent. With a cocky smirk on his face, he slid out of his shirt, flexing his abdomen, his six pack ever more chiseled from one hundred push ups before. Nathan handed him his gloves and disappearing in the crowd.

Lucas began to fasten them on, looking around at the turn out. Almost everyone that was in that building had bet something on this match, he could tell. And the ones that had bet almost thousands worth were the ones on the edge of their seats. But up on the top level, he saw the one face out of the crowd that actually made him happy. He pointed straight up at her, smiling. She caught his gaze, returning the smile.

"Alright boys, winner wins by a knock-out or submission. Remember, there's no thumbs to the eye or hitting in the crotch area," a guy said. He was the referee, unfortunately. There really wasn't supposd to be a referee in this type of fighting. But this was a business, and there were some things you just had to watch out for. Nobody liked thumbs to the eye, or getting hit in the man's most sensitive area.

"Hey Scott!" a voice called. Lucas tore his eyes away from hers, meeting the eyes of Felix. "Are you going to keep making eyes at girls, or are we going to do this?"

Lucas shrugged, "It doesn't really matter. I'm going to beat your ass anyways."

That was all it took for Felix to throw a punch. It hurt quite a bit, and it was definitely enough for Lucas to throw a three combination punch. Felix continued to hold his arms up, blocking all of the shots. There was no doubt in Lucas's mind that Felix had definitely studied up. That was probably the only thing he ever studied for. At this point, he knew he was going to have to come up with a lot more, and what with Nathan yelling from behind him, Lucas was already starting to get irrated.

Lucas kicked Felix in the hamstring and then in the ribs, making him fall to the ground. Without an ounce of hesitation, he ran over and stomped his foot repeatedly on Felix's stomach, causing him to writh in pain, causing the crowd to scream even louder. He walked away for a minute, trying to figure out what to do next, and to give Felix a chance to get up. If he wanted to win, he was going to do it right. Just as Felix charged towards him, obviously pissed off, Lucas punched him from the left and right. It was then that Felix started bleeding from his mouth, his teeth red along with his eyes in such rage.

Felix threw punch after punch at Lucas's face, causing Lucas to lose his vision slightly. Felix threw another punch before he stopped, raising his hands, getting no cheer from the crowd. Before Felix could even turn back around, Lucas had regained his composure and had him tackled to the ground. With his legs resting on Felix's hands, he began to punch him with just about everything he had in him. The crowd's yells were ringing in his ears, but he heard them faintly.

He was tempted to have Felix in a triangle leg lock within seconds, but he remembered what Nathan had said. He had bet money that Lucas would with with a knock out. If he knew his brother, Nathan had bet a shitload of money on this fight, hoping that he would receive ten times more as he originally had bet. And as much as he wanted to give Felix the excruciating pain that he had deserved, him and his brother needed the money. Maybe, he could just take out the jerk and possibly hang out with Brooke later. It was worth a try.

Getting up, he wiped his brow, sweat clouding his vision temporarily. He chuckled to himself, seeing Felix staggering up, clutching his eye and stomach. Felix was a lot of things, one thing being he was definitely a dumbass. It was better if he were to just stay down. He backed up slowly before facing Felix, somewhat pitying the jerk. He swung his leg behind him for a roundhouse kick straight to the jaw. He didn't even have to look back to know how his opponent was looking right now. It always ended this way.

Nathan was jumping on his feet, excitement clouding the fact that he probably looked retarded right now, along with everybody else. The referee raised Lucas' hand in victory. He smirked, glad that the night was over, and he could get his money and jet out of there. People were clapping him on the back, congratulating him, recounting something he had just done. It always ended that way too. Nathan draped his arm over Lucas' shoulders, wearing a grin on his face.

"Take a look around this place man, because we're not going to be here for a little while," Nathan said, pushing Lucas into the changing room.

Lucas chuckled, throwing his gloves in his bag, "Sounds good to me. Now beat it, I got to take a shower."

"Alright. Be quick though," he said before disappearing from the room. Lucas shook his head and smiled, glad that this night was over. Truthfully, he had been on edge all week, working out and trying to stay in the right mindset. There were still people in the building, either clearing out, getting their money, handing their money over, or standing around, waiting for people to decide that they were going to party it up at the Blue Post.

His jaw was somewhat sore, along with his back, which was killing him. He squinted as the hot water his him, the sting more apparent than anything. What he really wanted to do was stay under that hot water for the rest of the night. But then he realized that if he ever wanted to catch Brooke, he would have to hurry his ass up.

**X.X.X**

She didn't know if she should be scared, or completely turned on by the sight of Lucas knocking someone to the ground with his foot. Or maybe it was the fact that his muscles were in full view, and he wasn't wearing anything but shorts. Or maybe it was his face, glistening with sweat, wearing a confident smirk on his face. Or maybe it was all of it.

Everyone was still cheering long after Lucas left, and Felix got carried out by his own crew. Music blared from the big speakers, and now everyone was dancing. It was like that whole fight didn't just happen, and this was nothing more than a dance club. Rachel and Haley were talking to each other while Brooke was still in shock about what had just happened.

"So, what do you think, Davis?" Rachel asked.

Brooke shrugged, "It was alright, I guess."

Haley snorted, "Whatever. We know you loved it."

"Alright. It was kind of fun watching Lucas beating the shit out of that guy," she admitted.

"Want to know my favorite part? When you and Lucas were making eyes at each other," Rachel smirked.

"Okay, it wasn't a big deal. I mean, he's somewhat of a player, right?"

"If you want to think that. But there's no denying it, he's into you."

Brooke shook her head, "Whatever guys. So what are we going to do?"

"Let's hit the elevator and see what's going on down below," Rachel said, already rising from her seat. With all the excitement slowly dying down, a lot more people were at the bar than before. Everyone had getting drunk and posibly laid definitely on their minds. By the time the elevator's opened, people were grinding against each other to the beat of the song.

"Okay seriously Rachel, I am not hanging around here for the rest of the night," Haley said as they slid past people. The ground floor was a lot more lively, and hotter, at that. People were already sweating from dancing, grinding against one another. It was hard to believe that this kind of atmosphere actually existed in Tree Hill.

"Don't worry Haley, we'll get you home in time to read your Harry Potter."

"I finished reading Harry Potter last year," Haley said matter-of-factly. Brooke rolled her eyes at the girls' petty argument. Another thing that was hard to believe was the friendship between Haley and Rachel. Whenever they were around one another, it was always bickering about stupid stuff. Haley would take a whack at Rachel's 'friendliness,' and Rachel would call Haley out on being a nerd. Brooke had only been here for one week, and it seemed to be a normal routine. Finishing senior here would definitely be something to remember.

"Uhm guys I think I'm going to go get something to drink," she said suddenly, the humidity catching up with her.

"Alright, we'll be, well, around here," Haley answered, gesturing to the whole building. Brooke laughed before making her way to the bar all the way in the far side of the ground floor. She should've been a lot more surprised by the couples having sex in the dark corners, but she wasn't. It was nights like these her parents wanted to take her out of California anyway. But Brooke knew that no matter where she went, nights like these were always going to occur. Too bad her parents didn't figure that one out yet.

Behind the bar was a skinny guy with a jet black mohawk, with tattoos all over his arm. Aside from his appearance, his face didn't look any more friendly. He stared at her contently, until Brooke realized that maybe the reason he was staring at her, was because he was supposed to take her drink order. Clearing her throat, Brooke smiled.

"Can I just have a cranberry and vodka, please?" she asked, tapping her fingernails against the countertop. As the bartender began working on her drink, she felt someone stand next to her, and something told her that this person wasn't looking to get a drink. She turned her head casually, just to find the owner of the place, looking her up and down. Brooke shot him a dirty look, one that said 'Get the fuck away from me before I claw your eyeballs out.' But he didn't seem to get the point.

"Excuse me, but I don't think I have ever seen you around here before. I'm Cooper, Stanley," he said, flashing a debonair smirk that probably worked on a lot of girls. But Brooke was encouraged.

"I just moved here," she said shortly, causing the bartender to smirk, sliding her drink over in front of her.

"Really? So how are you liking it here in North Carolina?" he asked, leaning closer to her face.

Brooke chuckled, "Look, I just came here with friends, and I'm not interested."

"How do you even know what I was going to ask you? What if I just wanted to talk?"

"No offense, Cooper," Brooke exphasized, "But guys are all the same."

"Well you are a little spitfire aren't you?" Cooper asked, clearly amused and unfortuantely, more turned on than before.

"I think she said she wasn't interested, Cooper," a voice said from behind them. Brooke turned her head to see Lucas standing there. She sighed in relief, glad that he had come just in case. For someone that just had a gruesome match, Lucas looked pretty good with a black button down shirt and jeans.

Cooper smirked, "Scott, nice match tonight, I already gave Nathan your money. Not that it's any of your business, but me and -- "

"Her name's Brooke, and no, you guys weren't talking," Lucas said. "Brooke, you want to come with me?" Brooke looked at him surprised, not expecting to offer her any way out of this predicament what so ever. Downing her drink, she took the hand that he had held out for her. Sparks immediately touched her fingers, giving her a jumping feelings in her stomach. Cooper looked on scowling. He was clearly pissed that one of his fighters had stolen his conquest for the night right out from under him.

Lucas led them to a corner of the building, all the way on the other side. There were couches and chairs set there, where people were drinking and talking in enclosed quarters. He gestured to a chair, which Brooke took easily, wanting to ease the pain that her heels were causing her feet. Lucas sat down on a chair next to her.

"Thanks for the save back there," Brooke said. "If he said one more word I think I would've poured my drink on his head."

Lucas smirked, "It's no problem, and you wouldn't want to waste your drink on someone like him."

"He's your boss isn't he?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, but only when he has to be. Me and Nate can't really stand Cooper, he's always trying to mess with our money."

"That's right, you guys get a lot of money off of doing stuff like this," she said, pointing to the scratch above his eye.

Lucas looked at her, clearly acknowledging the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous. The nightlife definitely agreed with her. But he couldn't help but have a nagging feeling in his brain, and all he had to do was look across the room to see who was causing that. Peyton was standing at the other end, looking at Lucas in betrayl. Sighing, he knew that he couldn't have a conversation with Brooke whlie his stalker was in the same area.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" he asked.

"Uhm, I don't know, I came here with Haley and Rachel..." Brooke trailed.

"Go find them and let them know where you're going, and I can take you home," Lucas suggested.

Brooke smiled, "Alright, I'll be right back," she stood up, fixing her skirt, before disappearing in the crowd. Lucas took one more look at Peyton before standing up, making his way to Nathan, Owen, and Jake who were all standing together in one area.

"Hey Nate, can I have the keys to your car and you can just get a ride home?" Lucas asked.

Nathan smirked, "Sure man. Are you going to show Brooke Davis around late at night or something?" He dangled the keys in front of his brother's face.

Lucas rolled his eyes, snatching the keys, "Cut me some slack, we're talking. It's kind of hard to do that when it's so fucking loud and Peyton's sending me puppy looks from across the room."

"Damn, you can't even get away from her in this crowd," Owen observed.

Lucas scoffed, "You're telling me. I'll see you guys later." He arrived back just when Brooke came.

"You get everything straightened out?" he asked.

Brooke nodded, "Yeah. So, where are we going?"

Lucas smiled, "I just thought of the perfect place. Come on." He grabbed her hand and they made their way through the exit.

**X.X.X**

"So not only are you a Fighter Boy, but you play basketball too?" Brooke asked, standing in the middle of a old basketball court that overlooked the river.

Lucas chuckled, "I guess if you want to come at it like that. Way before I even got involved in fighting, basketball was my thing. Me and Nathan used to come here all the time and just be here for hours. Everything used to be so easy back then, you know? Everyone used to make sense..." he trailed. He didn't know why he was opening up to someone that he had just met, but something about Brooke told him that she was a good person, and even if nothing ever happened, he wanted to be close to her.

"Yeah," Brooke nodded. "So I saw Peyton eyeing you tonight..."

Lucas groaned, "I was hoping you wouldn't see that."

"How could anyone not? So what's the deal with you two?"

"I thought you knew my story," he asked.

"I do, but I kind of got the footnotes part. In other words, she's completely obsessed, but you're over it," she stated.

Lucas chuckled, "Yeah, I guess that's it in a nutshell. But yeah, me and Peyton go way back. She's always been there for me, but it was at the point where she wanted more than I could give to her. And even now, Peyton still thinks that I'm the guy for her."

"She's still holding on," Brooke said. "It's too bad, she seems like a cool girl."

"Yeah, she was, way before things got, complicated," Lucas said. "So, what's the deal with your big move here? Why Tree Hill of all places?"

Brooke shrugged, "I wish I knew. I think my parents used to be from here or something. California was a little too much for me, so they thought."

Lucas nodded, "Oh, so you were one of those girls..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brooke snapped, becoming defensive.

"Not like that," Lucas quickly said. "What I meant was, you were a party girl, right?"

"And how the hell do you figure that?" Brooke asked.

"Why else would your parents want a drastic move? And there's probably only a hand full of people in the world that know of Tree Hill, North Carolina."

She sighed, "Okay, maybe you're right. I was a little too out of hand in California. You-name-it I-did-it kind of thing. Then one day, my parents found out, and here I am."

"And that didn't bother you?" Lucas asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Not really. I was stuck in the same cycle over and over again, it was refreshing to just start all over. Gawd knows I'm not proud of the things I've done, or the person I've been."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't know. Why did you tell me your business?" she shot back, kinking her eyebrow.

He sighed, "I don't know. I've known you for all of one week and talked to you only twice, but I feel comfortable around you. What's your excuse?"

"Maybe it's the same thing. And the fact that I like looking at you," she smirked, causing him to blush profusely.

"I like looking at you too. But I think if we hang around here any longer, we won't be able to see anything. The lights around here busted a long time ago."

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, and before Peyton comes looking for you. I can already see her Comet soaring down this road," she chuckled.

"Are you always going to be making fun of me?" Lucas asked, climbing into Nathan's car and starting the engine.

"No, just this once. It's really none of my business, because I don't really know her."

"It's okay. This thing with Peyton is complicated and messy. I just wish I could just shake her and tell her that we don't have anything anymore."

"What's stopping you?"

"That's the thing. I really don't know. Like, I still care about her and stuff, and I don't want to hurt her."

"Sometimes people need to hear the truth, even if it does hurt," Brooke stated. "I live next door to Rachel by the way."

"So you moved into that house?"

"Why do I keep on hearing that?" Brooke asked.

"There's nothing wrong with that house, it's just that no one's lived there in awhile. Plus it's probably one of the biggest houses in town."

Brooke shrugged, "I just like it because of the red front door."

Lucas chuckled, "So you mean to tell me that you're living in a house with a tile floor, heated pool along with a pool house, six bedrooms, and four bathrooms, top of the line kitchen with servants, chefs, and maids. And all you can tell me is that you like the red door?" He parked in front of the driveway, facing the luxurious house. Lucas was right, Brooke was living in a kick ass house, but none of that stuff ever really mattered to her.

"Actually, yeah," she said.

"Well, Girl Behind the Red Door, thank you for a very enjoyable evening," he said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Enjoyable? We didn't even do anything."

"But we talked, and I like talking to you," Lucas shrugged.

Brooke smiled, "You should do it more often."

"I think I will. See ya," he said, watching her walk up her driveway. She gave him one last wave before before closing the door. The red door.


	4. She's A Lady

**A/N;; **Thanks for the reviews. sorry i have taken so long for an update. i've been caught up in school and stuff since the year's almost over and summer's almost here. i for one am so relieved by that. anyways, i've also been busy writing my other story, Things We Never Thought. you guys should check it out. it's a Brucas, of course. so this chapter isn't really as long, it mainly deals with a regular day at school, along with some other characters. Brooke has a weird encounter with Peyton, and Lucas gets challenged once again.

I know it kind of seems like this will be just another high school One Tree Hill story, but it won't be. i'm kind of laying low on the whole intenseness of the fighting that the boys do and stuff. Lucas and Nathan are getting a break from that, or, they're supposed to be getting a break from it. I'm just getting into the beginning stages of the thing, introducing you to the characters and kind of where they came from and their personalities. it starts to get a little grittier and intense as the story goes on, so stick with me! Enjoy and Review!

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Chapter 4;; She's A Lady.

"Okay, remind me why we're here again?" Brooke asked, standing on the sandy beach. Rachel and Haley had called Brooke at the butt crack of dawn, telling her to get her ass out of bed and dressed to run. She didn't really think much about it, but now that Brooke was standing there with them, she felt very curious. Haley and Rachel continued to not answer her, checking their watches every now and then, furiously typing away on their cell phones. Brooke shot them looks, really wanting to know what all the fuss was about.

Brooke had been in Tree Hill for two weeks, and she already felt semi dialed into the whole high school system. Other than the fact that she had to dodge from the likes of Peyton, who, ever since her hang out with Lucas the weekend before, had been sure to stay quiet but polite whenever they were around each other. Brooke didn't like to pay it any mind, her and Lucas were definitely not anything special for that matter. Not that she wouldn't mind if they were.

"Okay. It's obvious they're going to be late, so we might as well just tell her," Haley finally said, looking at Rachel.

"Alright fine. Brooke, we've decided that you're going to join the cheerleading squad at school."

"Wait? What?" she sputtered, looking at Haley and Rachel like they had grown two heads or something. "Cheerleading?"

"Yeah. You were a cheerleader at your old school. Right? It's only right that you join here, too," Haley explained.

Brooke shrugged, "Well yeah, but I don't even know anybody on the cheerleading squad. Hell, I didn't even know there was one."

"Well, there is. We're on it," Rachel said, nodding at herself and Haley.

Brooke chuckled, "Haley? You're a cheerleader?" She didn't mean it in a bad way, but Haley was everything good. Brooke was a cheerleader at her old school in California. She knew what they were like. Rachel seemed to fit the profile just fine, but Haley was a different story.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Don't push it. I needed all the credentials I could get." Just then three cars pulled into the beach parking lot. Two of the cars had pop music blasting from the Pioneer speakers. The only thing that was heard from the last car was annoying screaming noises with cringing guitar backgrounds. The last one just happened to be an old Comet. Brooke looked on, the pieces finally being put together.

"So what is this? An inititiation or something?" she asked. Girls piled out of the cars, Adidas gym bags on their shoulders, bottles of Evian water in their hands. They all looked immensely too excited to be here at six o'clock in the morning. Although Brooke wasn't complaining.

"Hardly," Rachel snorted. "This is kind of practice. Once a week we all meet here early in the morning, stretch. Then we run a mile."

"That's it?" Brooke asked, because if it was, she had this thing in the bag.

"That's it," Haley stated as all the girls made their way towards them.

"Okay sluts, before we get started, I'd like to introduce our newest member of the squad, Brooke Davis," Rachel said loud enough so that they all could hear her. Secretly, cheerleading and anything to do with dancing and gymnastics was Brooke's thing. When you were stuck with no parents, only being raised by nannies, she had to find something that her parents could be proud of. Turns out, no matter what she did, it just wasn't enough. But she got a killer body because of it.

All the girls waved and gave their welcome greetings towards Brooke, who nodded and smiled back politely. Peyton was at the end of the group. Her bag was slumped over her shoulder as she crossed her arms, looking around boredly. Something told her that she was forced into this too.

"Alright!" Haley exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "We got a mile to run, so we might as well get to it. Drop your stuff and haul ass all the way to the life guard station and back." With that, all the girls dropped their stuff in place and started off in a mellow jog, not really worrying about who was ahead of whom.

"So how many miles are we supposed to run again?" Brooke asked, jogging alongside Rachel and Haley.

"Eh, give or take, about two miles?" Rachel said.

Brooke smirked, "Excellent."

**X.X.X**

Along the other side of the beach, a group of guys in wife beaters and basketball shorts sat, catching their breaths and drinking immensely from their bottles of water. The boys on the baskebtall team, on the other hand, had just about the same workout, except roughy two hours earlier. Their coach, Whitey Durham, was away getting surgery, something about a tumor, but that was all the old coach would let his players know. He didn't believe in feeling bad about someone's health, you just had to work better. So when he was in the hospital, everyone had to haul ass on the beach for the next couple of weeks to stay in shape, until Whitey returned just as hard and pissed as before.

"You know what I love about basketball practice?" Tim Smith asked, lounging on a nearby rock. His eye was still bloody and his nose was busted from his fight with Owen. But no matter what you did, you could never keep the guy down. He would always rise up, laugh it off, and act like he just didn't get his ass kicked.

"Watching guys stretch?" Jake joked, causing the rest of the guys to laugh. They knew Tim wasn't gay. No, he was way too horny for that. But it was funny to imply it.

"No," he answered dumbly. "Think about it. We're here, already done with our workout, and the girls are just getting warmed up." Maybe Tim wasn't as stupid as they thought. If there was one thing that Tim did know, it was the ladies. He didn't really have much luck with them, but he tried. Just as the guys realized what he was talking about, they heard laughing coming from far ahead, little specks of very hot girls jogging their way through the sand.

"He's right about that one," Nathan murmured, seeing the little specks get closer and closer. Lucas squinted his eyes, becoming a lot more confused but happy at the sight if a certain brunette jogging alongside Rachel and Haley. He didn't know what was going on, but ever since he had met her two weeks ago, there had been a lot of instances where they had been at the same place at the same time. Not that he was complaining or anything.

"Dude, Brooke's a cheerleader now?" Jake asked.

Lucas shrugged, "I guess so. She is friends with Haley and Rachel." Now the girls were a lot more closer than before, and they had noticed the boys too. Some girls, namely Bevin and Theresa, were hooting and calling out to the boys, who were returning the favor. This was how the high school system worked. The jocks were all over the cheerleaders, and the cheerleaders were trying to do anything and everything to impress the jocks.

By this point, Lucas didn't even care that he was the only boy that wasn't openly being loud and rowdy over the girls. He was just enjoying himself, watching Brooke. He could never pinpoint exactly why he liked her, but she definitely had it going on as far as looks were concerned. The sight of her tones legs tensing with each step and the slight moisture forming on her forehead was enough to make him fall over in the sand itself. Lucas continued to watch her, completely entranced by her.

It wasn't until the girls finally reached the lifeguard station that they made their way over slowly back to where they started. But they were all hoping the guys would get off their asses and walk along with them. It didn't really take much, though. Brooke admired the beach, the waves crashing against each other. It was completely empty except for a couple of surfers, being so early in the morning. Sure, there were tons of beaches in California, but they were always crowded, so crowded that you could never hear yourself think. Those beaches never could have been as much of a sanctuary as this one was becoming.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice said from next to her. Lucas stood there, staring at the beach with her. Brooke examined him more up close. He was by far one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen, and Brooke had her fair share in the past. He was wearing a Tree Hill Ravens T shirt and blue shorts. The shirt was right enough to define his arms and torso, almost making her jaw drop smack dab to the floor. Although she didn't want to seem completely weird, Lucas was definitely making it hard.

"Yeah, it really is," she answered. "So, how are your guys' run?"

Lucas shrugged, "It's a run. It kind of pisses me off that I have to take a million more steps just to move a foot."

Brooke laughed, "Maybe that's the point. Plus, isn't it worth it with that body?" Okay, maybe she should've just left that out. As Lucas' smile became all out wider, a pink flush was revealing on her cheeks. It was one thing to think it, but it was another letting it slip out of her mouth like that.

"Uhm, thanks, I guess," Lucas said, practically grinning like an idiot by Brooke's compliment. "Although I don't know why we're talking about me. You're gorgeous."

She had to look away for a moment, completely enthralled by the fact that someone that she had just met was able to completely make her melt. There was no denying it, Brooke was definitely attracted to Lucas. And apparently, she was gorgeous. Not that she wouldn't admit it, but Brooke knew she was something of a beauty. But it hear it from Lucas' mouth was ten times better than any other compliment she had received.

"I don't know about that..." she trailed.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Brooke. Just about every guy at school wanted to nail you the minute you walked into the halls."

"That's kind of the problem," she said. "Guys see me and that's all they think about at first. It kind of makes it hard for a girl."

"But I don't--" Lucas started, but was interrupted by a loud squeal of a whistle, and Rachel's annoying yelling.

"Alright girls get your asses up and jog back over to the parking lot!" Brooke stood up, dusting off her shorts, trying to ignore the conversation they were just having. She realized that she was telling Lucas way too much way too soon. She really liked him, but did she really know him? She zipped up her above-the-elbow hoodie, flipping the hood up, and began jogging along with the other girls, not even bothering to say good-bye to Lucas.

Scratching his head, Lucas tried to figure out what had just happened. They had been talking, getting along really well, even complimented each other. He would've thought that she would be flattered or some sorts by the fact that all the guys thought she was hot. But apparently not. Although he could kind of see why, it would be kind of hard if every guy wanted you for just your body. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything, he thought, mentally kicking himself in the head repeatedly.

**X.X.X**

Forward. Friend. Fighter. Fucking Hot. Failing. F. F. F.

He was failing, and it definitely didn't feel good deep in his stomach. It was a long time coming. It was only a matter of time before Nathan found himself in the Guidance Office, with Ms. Glos, talking about his future. Or more like, the future that he wouldn't get as long as he was failing Calculus. He had been called in the middle of Calculus itself, and had been there for a good ten minutes. Nathan couldn't find the point of it though. He knew he was failing. Why should he be reminded of that?

"Now Nathan, I understand that you're on the basketball team, correct?" Ms. Glos asked, sniffling as she went through his transcripts from the past four years.

"Yes, m'am," he answered politely. "I was thinking if we do pretty good this year than maybe I can play in college or something."

"That's a pretty accurate goal. Now I'm not saying that you won't be able to accomplish it. But it's going to be hard work. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I know I'm ready for it. It's just my stupid Calculus grade. I told you Ms. Glos, all I need is a tutor and I'll be good," he said. Frankly Nathan didn't want to be in an enclosed room with Ms. Glos more than he had to. People said that she had this ugly rash on the side of her neck, and that it was contagious, and no matter what season or time of the year it was, she was always sniffling. She must've spent her whole salary on Kleenex tissue boxes.

She sighed, "Alright then. I'll write you a note to bring to the Tutor Center so you can get together with someone." She took a pad of paper and began to scribble on it. Nathan glanced at the clock behind her. The bell would ring any minute now, and he had Weightlifting next. Going through his schedule for the rest of the day, there was no way he would be able to get a tutor before the day was over. He just didn't have any time. Maybe lifting weights and grunting for a whole hour wasn't as important today.

"There you go. Just take it straight to the Tutor Center and you should be set up with somebody," she said. Nathan took the note gingerly, folding it up and slipping it into his pocket. He rose from the seat just as the bell rang, and he heard commotion going on outside in the halls, just like he always did.

"Thanks, Ms. Glos," he said shortly before leaving. He cringed inwardly. Man, that woman creeped him out. Everytime he walked through the halls, he was met with looks and greetings from people that he had never actually hung out with. Stillm he could not figure out why they did it. Although he did have a lot of guesses. Maybe they were scared of him because of his job. Or maybe it was because he was a jock, and jocks tend to be bullies. Or maybe it was because they were looking for someone to be afraid of, and Nathan and his friends were just randomly picked. All very accurate, but none completely true.

"Did you talk to Ms. Glos already?" his brother asked, opening up his locker.

"Yeah, I'm going to be a little late for Weightlifting. I might as well just head over to the Tutor Center right now," Nathan explained.

"Alright I'll see you in there," Lucas said, heading towards the gym as Nathan stood in front of the Tutor Center. He had been in Tree Hill his whole life, and he had been to the high school for four years, and never had he walked into the hall that led to the Tutor Center. Sighing, he pushed the door open. There were students walking around everywhere, whether it was with answer keys or practice tests. Seated at one of the tables was Logan Patterson, registered badboy. He had been to juvie seven times, and that was just during high school. He sat with his head bent over, taking what looked like a test.

Nathan shook his head, knowing that this was going to be a long road until he was excelling at Calculus. Over by the filing cabinets, he saw a petite blonde with her head bent over one of the cabinets, filing something. Then it dawned on him. She could be his tutor. He knew her, they kind of grew up together. Plus he had heard that she was a miracle worker when it came to tutoring kids at school. Nathan smirked, making his way over to her. Quietly, he leaned over her.

"Boo!" he hissed, causing her to jump and grab her chest in fright.

"Nathan!" Haley exclaimed, slapping her on the shoulder.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "I couldn't help myself."

"Yeah, whatever," she said, rolling her eyes playfully. "So what brings you to the Tutor Center?"

He shrugged, "Why else to people come here? I need a tutor, and I was wondering if you would take me on."

Haley glanced at him before returning to filing, "What do you need help in, anyway?"

"Calculus," Nathan sighed, handing the note over from Ms. Glos. "I just met with Ms. Glos in Guidance. If I'm ever going to get a scholarship out of this place, basketball's it. And scouts aren't going to look at me if I have a 43 in Calculus senior year."

"So what is it? Basketball or fighting?" she asked slyly. Nathan looked out the window. He knew it was basketball that he wanted to do. Fighting was just something he did for money, and for other reasons. But it was never because he liked it. People didn't understand that. Nathan knew that Haley wasn't supportive of it. Her opinion didn't even really matter, but for her to think that of all people, it just made him a little uneasy.

"Basketball," he finally answered. "It's always been basketball. So are you going to help me, or not?"

Haley read the note and looked up at him, "Alright, I'll do it. But I have to warn you, I'm a hardass when it comes to this. I don't play around."

"I didn't think you did," Nathan smirked. "So, when do we start?"

"Hmm, tomorow right after school?" she asked. "I guess you can pick where we go."

"Okay," he nodded. "I know the perfect place. I'll see you then." He flashed her another smile before leaving. As Haley watched him leave, she couldn't help but think that maybe this was a huge mistake. Not only did she think he was gorgeous, but despite what people had thought, Haley had harbored a tiny crush on the dark haired boy. It had been ever since they were little, actually. But Nathan was her friend, and she was his tutor, too. That was all.

**X.X.X**

After sitting through about four hours of nothing but compelete bullshit about his future, Lucas was glad to finally have lunch. Before, he thought senior year would be so much fun. He wouldn't have to worry about anything, and nobody would try to tell him what he could and could not do, because he was going to be gone in a couple of months. But lately all he had ever heard was his future; what college he wanted to go to, what classes he wanted to take. Frankly, it was boring the shit out of him, and his stomach had been growling for the past three periods. Armed with a tray of double cheeseburgers and fries, he made his way to the table farthest away from everybody else. Their table.

Owen was already seated there, reading. Now, most people just thought of Owen Revels as a bully who liked fighting just to hurt people. And on most days, that was completely and irrevocably true. Owen didn't come from a good home. He didn't really have a home at all. He had been living by himself since he was in the seventh grade. Owen could basically do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. That was just the way things worked. But he had to find some way out of Tree Hill, and beating the shit out of people wasn't an option.

"What you reading?" Lucas asked, sitting down across from him.

Owen glanced up, "I have no fucking idea, man. This is just a bunch of crap if you ask me."

Lucas looked at the cover. Inkheart. "Have you seriously never read this book before?"

"No," he shrugged. "I asked Mrs. Kwan if there was something I could do for extra credit, and she gave me this freaking book. She said to read it and write a one page paper on it. But I seriously don't get it. How the hell can you write something down, and it automatically springs to life? I mean, aren't you basically screwing yourself in the process?"

Lucas chucked, "I guess so, but I guess the dude wasn't thinking at the time. Inkheart isn't really supposed to make sense, either. Call it a fantasy book."

"Fantasy my ass," Owen mumbled. "That's it. I'm hungry." He stood up and made his way back into the cafeteria, no doubt buying five double cheeseburgers.

Lucas shook his head and began eating. Now that he was done with the fighting for a little while, he would have a lot more time. It was somewhat comforting, but he didn't know what he should do. Looking around, he noticed Brooke sitting with all the cheerleaders. He remembered their conversation earlier that morning. Lucas felt kind of bad that he said that every guy in the school wanted to sleep with her. But it was true, and he didn't mean it as an insult. He had half the mind to go up and talk to her, but he didn't want to embarass himself.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice said from beside him. Lucas didn't even have to look up to know who it was. He glanced to the side, seeing their shadow. It was a voice he had heard and a shadow he had seen way too much for way too long. Just when he thought he couldn't be more annoyed with today, she showed up.

"Does it matter?" he asked gruffly, setting his eyes of his burger, taking a bite. The more he ate, the less he would have to talk to her.

"So you're going to be like this?" Peyton asked, sitting next to him. He winced as her hip collided with his stomach.

"I don't know what you're talking about Peyton," Lucas said. "I'm just here, eating lunch. What the hell is the big deal?"

"I saw you staring at her," she stated, completely ignoring what he had just said.

Lucas looked at her, "Staring at who?" He knew perfectly well who Peyton was talking about, but Lucas chose to avoid it as far back as possible.

"Brooke. What is she? You're latest conquest?" she snapped.

"Well it's not like you have anything to be mad about, do you?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Not really, but you know we have a connection, Lucas," she said. "That will never change, and Brooke coming into town certainly doesn't change it either."

Lucas groaned, "Peyton, I'm just trying to eat my damn lunch. I don't need another speech about how we're meant to be together. Because honestly, Peyt, if we were meant to be together, we would never have broken up all of one year ago. Brooke's my friend, and I'm going to hang out with her and stare at her if I want to."

"Friends don't stare at each other, Luke."

"How would you know?" he scoffed. "Do you even have friends these days?"

Peyton smirked, "You know, I'm just going to ignore that comment. I'll see you in study hall." With that, she retreived her messenger bag and left, much to Lucas' relief. He had thought about this a lot. How the hell could be possibly get Peyton to stop hanging around him? An even bigger question: How the hell could he get her to stop thinking that they could possibly be a couple again? It was starting to really annoy him, and Lucas just wanted his freedom.

Over on the other side of the quad, Brooke was sitting there, twirling her hair between her fingers, watching the exchange of conversation, or insults, from the two blondes. They seemed a bit, tense, both of them. But she didn't expect anything less than that. Lucas had made it clear that him and Peyton were nothing but a mere memory, and that she seemed to be the one that couldn't let go of the past. Brooke had to admit, they looked somewhat, cute.

She felt a kind of weird having lunch with all the cheerleaders. Rachel and Haley seemed to be the only real girls that she had met so far at the table. The rest of them just seemed too fake to even be considered people. And apparently, Peyton had refused to sit with the rest of the girls, not that Brooke was complaining. She had yet to say a word to Peyton since their first meeting, and she wasnt looking forward to it. There was no doubt in her mind that there was some animosity on Peyton's part.

Bevin and Theresa were really nice, but all in all, complete dummies. She couldn't really be mad, although Bevin did ask her if California was a state. It was kind of funny, but at the same time, she thought that the girl seriously needed a crash course in history. More so on learning which places were states and which were not.

Picking at her fries, she listened on to Haley and Rachel's conversation, talking about the next up and coming party that Rachel had planned on throwing at her house. Just then a tall shadow loomed over her, everything turning just a shade darker. Brooke lifted her head, squinting her eyes at the sun. She remembered the guy, she had seen him only once before, and it wasn't really a good sight. But he stood there with a smug smirk, lookng her up and down. Brooke was used to this, but it didn't make it any more uncomfortable.

"I don't believe we've met before," he said, holding his hand out. "I'm Felix Taggaro." She admitted that Felix was definitely something of a hottie. His olive skin and dark spikey hair looked good in the sun, and he definitely had a sense of style to go with his good looks. Although something told her that he was a lot more attractive when he wasn't sporting a black eye, a busted lip, and a whole lot of other scratches.

"Brooke Davis. I just moved here," she said, shaking his hand. "But I do remember you. I was at the Pit on Friday, and if I remember correctly, I saw you get your ass beat by Lucas Scott," she said smoothly. His face fell, but he quickly recovered.

"It was an off night. We all have those," he said. "So, Rachel. I heard you're having a party this weekend after the basketball game."

Rachel looked up at Felix, rolling her eyes. "That's right. What's it to you?"

"I just had one question. How big is your back yard?" he asked, a smirk creeping up on his face.

"It's pretty big. Is that what you want to hear?" Rachel asked. She, along with everybody else, was trying to figure out what the big deal is.

"Actually, thats exactly what I want to hear," he said. "Since Scott isn't scheduled to fight for another month or so. I want a rematch. At your party."

"Then why are you here telling us this?" Brooke asked. This Felix guy was starting to annoy her, and he had only been talking for less than five minutes. "If you want a rematch with Lucas, why don't you tell him yourself? Or are you too scared to?"

It was obvious that Brooke had torched a nerve. Felix glared at her. "I'm not scared of anybody, especially that pussy Lucas Scott. Although it doesn't surprise me that he's got you in his corner now. But then again, you just got here. You can't tell me you guys didn't hooked up already."

"I would walk away right now if I were you, Felix," a gruff voice said from behind them. Brooke, who was still fuming from Felix's previous remark, craned her neck to see Lucas standing there, fists and jaw clenched. If this wasn't such a serious moment, she would've been drooling over him. He was definitely hot.

"Why don't you walk away, Scott? This doesn't concern you in the least bit," Felix snapped, turning around to stare at him. At this point, both the boys were in each other's personal space, staring hard at one another. Lucas had half the mind to just completely sock the guy, but he was in school, and he couldn't afford to get suspended.

"You should know by now that I don't walk away from anybody," Lucas said. "And I sure as hell won't walk away when you're talking shit to one of my friends."

"I don't consider the truth 'talking shit,'" Felix quoted. "And I didn't think you had female friends. You'd always end of screwing them."

Lucas chuckled, "You know that's really funny coming from you. So just let it go, man. I'll give you your rematch that you so graciously asked Brooke."

"Good, because you just signed your own death," he said, taking one more look at Lucas before walking away. Normal people would've been completely intimidated, and possibly scared for their life. But Lucas looked at it as comedy. Sure, Felix was good, but he didn't think there was any way that he could beat Lucas. The blonde brooder had way too much aggression and anger to ever be beaten in a fight. Unless there was someone that was possibly more angry than him. But that wasn't really possible.

"So something tells me you guys don't get along," Brooke stated, smiling up at Lucas.

"Definitely not. This crap has been going on ever since the seventh grade. But whatever, I'll put him in his place this weekend," he said, determined.

"Okay I'm all up for beating the shit out of Felix, but make sure no blood gets on the patio. My house is something my parents actually care about," Rachel pointed out.

"Don't worry Rachel. I'd watch out for your grass though."

She waved her hand, "Eh, whatever. I can always run the hose on it." Brooke and Haley laughed. Lucas, on the other hand, was staring off into space. He wasn't exactly brooding, but more like stretegizing. He was brought down to the fact that he was going to have to have a training session before. He didn't want to, but it was standard procedure. It wasn't unusual for Felix to be cocky and over confident, but something in his voice said that it was a sure bet that Lucas was going to lose.

"Earth to Lucas," Brooke said, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry," he said. "I was just thinking."

"Well don't think too hard," she joked.

"I won't. I got to run, but I'll see you guys later," he said before heading back into the building. As Brooke watched him leave, she couldn't help but feel like Lucas wasn't as confident as she thought he was. She looked away to see Rachel and Haley staring up at her with questioning looks.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Haley smirked, "Rachel, is it just me, or does it look like Brooke has a crush on Lucas Scott?"

Rachel nodded, "I don't think it's just you, Haley."

"Well I do," Brooke stated.

"Then I guess all of us are crazy, aren't we?"

**X.X.X**

The day had come and gone, and news of Felix challenging Lucas at the party Friday night had run rampant on the halls. There was also the little part about Brooke defending Lucas to Felix, who was fiercely hitting on her. So, there went the little rumor that there was something going on between the two. And an even bigger question: Was Brooke Davis the girl that could finally make Peyton see that Lucas didn't want her anymore, and save everyone the looks of pity and embarassment, and just get over it? Only time would tell.

But time was something that none of them had. It was Tuesday, which meant that there was exactly three days until the brawl, and that it was cheerleading and basketball practice in the gym, at the same time. Everyone was in the same proximity as each other, and when you're forced into an area with somebody, something's bound to be said.

As she was stretching, she couldn't help but glane at Lucas every now and then. He made shot after shot, and every now and then while he was talking to Nathan and Jake, he would look over and smile at her shyly, causing Brooke to blush profusely. It was definitely safe to say that Brooke had a huge crush of the blonde, but she would never admit that to Rachel or Haley. And she would rather die before she told Peyton Sawyer that.

"You might want to wipe that drool off your face," Rachel pointed out, nudging Brooke with her elbow. It was safe to say that Brooke and Rachel totally got along, although it did kind of surprise her. People like Rachel were formally known as Brooke's enemies, people that she went out of her way to mess with. But, new home equals change, and Brooke was tired of being the bitch of the school. Rachel single handedly did it for her.

"I wasn't drooling. I was just returning a smile," she corrected.

"Well if you weren't drooling, then you were gawking," Haley said, standing next to them. "Okay, I know this is like, our first actual practice, and I would hate to make you feel uncomfortable and stuff since you're new--"

"Haley just say that she's positioned next to Peyton," Rachel blurted out, making Brooke's eyes bulge out, and Haley to wear an apologetic smile.

"You mean to tell me that I'm supposed to stand next to Peyton and cheer, when she's probably has a Brooke voodoo doll?" Brooke hissed as all the girls assembled.

"I'm sorry but there was no other place to put you," Haley said, pushing Brooke one more time. Brooke hesitantly went and stood next to Peyton, who stood with her arms crossed, looking bored. Every once in awhile she would look to the other side of the gym, to Lucas, who paid her no mind at all. Brooke sighed, readjusting her shorts and running her hands through her hair as Haley and Rachel corrected Theresa on her timing.

"You know, me and Lucas have known each other ever since we were kids," Peyton said, out of the blue to some people, but it was predictable to Brooke.

"Uhm, you know Peyton there's nothing going on--"

"You can say that," she interrupted. "But I think we both know that there's more than friends with you two. But, like I said, I've known Lucas way longer than even Haley, which means that I know him more than anyone in any way possible. There's a lot that you don't know about him. And I would want to save you the trouble for having to find those things out." Brooke felt suddenly cautious at Peyton's little spreel. Maybe there really was a lot she didn't know about Lucas. And if there was, would she like it?

As weird as it was, Peyton was looking at her in seriousness, and compassion. Brooke just thought that Peyton was obsessed with Lucas, but now she could clearly see that the girl was holding on so hard because she was still so in love with him. Her intentions to chase Brooke away might have been uncalled for, but her feelings were totall out there.

"I know that you love Lucas," Brooke nodded. "And I wouldn't do anything to to compromise that."

"Good--"

"But if Lucas is over you, then I'm going to assume that he's over you. And if he wants to hang out with me and be friends, or more, then I guess he's over you."

**MEANWHILE...**

"That can't look good," Jake mumbled, nodding over to the other half of the gym. Lucas twirled the ball in his finger just to drop it, seeing the little exchange of words that was going on between his ex girlfriend, and Brooke. He wasn't sure what to call her. Sure, they only hung out once, and they talked a couple of times, but he found himself liking her more and more. Seeing Brooke and Peyton actually talking, more likely about him, wasn't going to go good.

"I was hoping they could go the rest of the year without talking," Lucas mumbled.

Nathan smirked, "That's wishful thinking on your part. I wouldn't sweat it though. Peyton can't scare Brooke away."

"That's not even the point. Peyton doesn't need to be talking to Brooke, telling her to stay away from me."

"How do you know that's what she's talking to her about?" Jake asked, even though he knew this was a losing question.

"Because everything that comes out of Peyton's mouth has to do with Lucas," Nathan answered.

Lucas groaned, "She needs to get the fuck out of my life." Nathan stared at his brother curiously. For something that was quite annoying, Lucas was getting too worked up over this. In fact, he had been this way ever since his fight against Felix. Normally, he put up with Peyton on a regular basis, learning to ignore her. But now he was looking to actually push her out of his life, whether she wanted to or not. Not that he was complaining, but this wasn't usual in Lucas' character. Nathan was supposed to be the ass, not his brother.

"Well, there seems to be only one way out of this predicament," Jake stated, bouncing the ball between his legs.

"What?" Lucas asked anxiously.

Jake smirked, "Change the keys to your house," he chuckled, passing the ball to Lucas.

He rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Jake. But seriously, I might actually do that." A whistle was blown, coming from the figure of Coach Durham, or Whitey. He was a short and stout old man that had seen way beyond his years. Whitey had been in this town for as long as people could remember, and he was always around. Nathan, Lucas, and Jake had been walking around on egg shells around Whitey ever since they started fighting. If he ever found out, there was no telling what the old man would do to them.

"Hit the showers, you guys stink!" He yelled before disappearing, most likely going to his office to find relaxation at the bottom of his hip flask. All the guys laughed before heading off to the showers. Whitey had been in a sour mood lately, mainly because they were slowly approaching the death anniversary of his late wife, Camilla. It was understandable, so the team didn't try to make such a big deal out of it. The guy was just lonely and missing his sweetheart.

Lucas went to follow Nathan and Jake when he saw the cheerleaders were also done with practice. Brooke was sitting on the bleachers, fixing her bag.

"Hey I'll catch you guys later," Lucas said to them. Jake and Nathan saw Brooke over on the other side of the gym, that sight being all they needed to know. Smirking, they both continued to walk into the locker room, no doubt spending the rest of the time in there talking about Lucas and the gorgeous brunette that as slowly taking up his thoughts.

He looked around the gym for Peyton, and he grinned in relief when he saw her nowhere in sight. Fox like, Lucas tip toed towards her. She was oblivious that he was approaching her, she was still going through her conversation with Peyton. Then she felt someone standing in front of her, and just her luck, literally, Lucas was standing there, all sweaty and gorgeous with his bag draped over one shoulder.

"So, how was your first actual practice?" Lucas asked.

Brooke shrugged, "Not bad. I got the routine down pretty quickly."

Lucas sighed, "Okay, so you don't have to tell me. But I saw you talking to Peyton earlier and--"

"You want to know what was said?" Brooke interrupted, smirking.

"Uh, yeah," Lucas said, smiling shyly.

"Well," Brooke began, swinging her bag over her shoulder, Lucas walking beside her, "it wasn't much to be honest. She just kind of implied that I should stay away from you because you guys still had feelings for each other. But I told her that if you say you're over her, then you're over her."

"Sorry," Lucas sighed, running his hand through his hair. "She just does not know when to quit. I hope she didn't scare you off into us being friends." _Or more_, he thought.

Brooke chuckled, "I've been around enough girls, Luke. Trust me, that girl doesn't scare. Although I have to admit, she's crazy about you."

"A little too crazy," Lucas mumbled. "But I'm glad that you weren't chased away."

"I don't go away easily," she said. They continued to walk towards the parking lot, settling in a comfortable silence.

"Listen," Lucas began, "I didn't mean to make you upset earlier this morning at the beach..."

Brooke waved her hand, "You don't have to apologize to me, Luke. I mean, you're right."

"I know, but I was out of line. I shouldn't have said that. And for the record, you're more than that."

Brooke nodded, "I know." It was nice to have someone say she was more than just a girl that guys wanted to sleep with. Although Brooke knew that she was more than that, not that many people, especially guys, would be able to attest to that. It was nice to know that Lucas was able to see that after just meeting her. "So, are you excited for Friday night?"

"Not really," Lucas admitted. "I mean, the basketball game I'm looking forward to."

"But not the creaming Felix part?" she asked.

"It's not that I think Felix can beat me, I was just looking forward to not fighting for a little bit. It gets kind of old after awhile."

"Then just don't fight," Brooke said simply.

"It's not that easy," he chuckled.

"Why not? Felix already knows you can beat his ass."

"I think he needs a reminder," Lucas said as Brooke opened her car door.

"Then remind him," she said, starting her car up. "See you tomorrow, Scott."

"Bye," Lucas, with a wave of his hand. He could've sworn he felt butterflies.


	5. Buzzin'

**A/N;;** Thanks for all the reviews. I know I haven't updated in awhile. Since my last chapter I've been really busy studying for the end of the year final exams. Turns out I did pretty good on them, so I'm not complaining too much about not posting in a long time. If you didn't know already, I have one other fic that I am working on called Things We Never Thought. It's also a Brucas, and I've been taking a lot of time to write out the next chapter. There's a couple of break through's going on with it, and I want it to go just right. So sorry for such the long wait but it's probably going to take me at least a couple of more days until I will be able to upload the next chapter. So be patient!

This chapter kind of gives you more insight to some of the characters, one in particular. There's still a lot more that I need to cover with some of the characters, and that will be revealed as the story goes on. I'm glad that all of you find this fic pretty interesting, something that you've never read before. It looks like I'm doing something right lol. If some of you feel weird or uncomfortable reading some of the fighting scenes, I suggest you skip all the way down. It might not seem that grotesque to some people, but to others, it's complete horror lol. Brooke talks to Lucas as well as Peyton, so it should be very interesting to see what goes down. The chapter is called Buzzin' by Shwayze. Enjoy & Review!!

* * *

Chapter Five;; Buzzin'

"I wonder if he knows the meaning of 'no'" Haley yelled into Brooke's ear. The cheerleaders were on the Ravens side of the gym, waving their pom poms in the air, and doing toe touches. Screaming was an essential, and so was the occasional wink and smirk to a player, their confidence arising, along with other things.

"He's Felix. He doesn't know anything," Rachel shrugged, sending a smirk over to Owen, who was huddled up with Nathan and Lucas with the team. Whitey was in the center, holding a clipboard and a game program, his arms waving frantically. You could tell this was a game that they had to win, even if it was the second game of the season. It was against Bear Creek, their rivals. While Brooke was standing along the sidelines, trying to get some sort of feel and excitement over this game, it was a hard thing to accomplish. Felix, who was sitting on the bottom bench closest to the cheerleaders, had resulted to smirking at Brooke and whistling at her everytime he thought she was paying attention. His cronies sat on the second bleacher, chuckling along with everything that he did, thinking that they were cool too. But in reality, they were chumps.

All the girls were dressed in blue, black, and white skirts, their tight shirts hugging all the right places. Shiny white sneakers were on their feet, and each girl sported an R on their cheekbone. Since it was already well into the fourth quarter, the girls were ever more determined to cheer on the players and get the fans into it too. But it seemed that the cheerleaders weren't even needed for that. Even children as young as five sported a Ravens T shirt and their faced painted blue and white.

"Why can't he just understand that I'm not hooking up with his ass," Brooke mumbled. She felt a tad bit shy with Felix staring over at her. Sure, she was disgusted, but Brooke liked the attention she got from boys. It kind of gave back some of the lost attention that a normal child would receive from parents. But no, she wasn't even sure her parents remembered they had a daughter half the time. Or maybe all the time. There was no doubt that Felix was hot, and had tons and tons of money that he could just easily spend on her. But she didn't want him the way that she wanted Lucas, and that was the part that got a little tricky.

It was sad to say, but as much as she didn't want to admit it, Brooke knew that Lucas wasn't available. He wasn't necessarily dating Peyton, but there was no way Brooke could pull off even going on a single date with Lucas without there being some sort of issue with the whole thing. Brooke knew that Peyton wasn't nearly as annoying when she wasn't talking about Lucas or thinking about him. Which wasn't really that often, but she could be pretty cool.

"Hey Rachel, why don't you just hook up with Felix so Brooke won't have to?" Haley asked jokingly.

"Seriously? Look, I know I'm somewhat of a slut, but even I have higher standards than that slime ball," Rachel scoffed.

Peyton snorted, "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"Hey Peyton, isn't it your cue to go stalk Lucas or something?" Haley asked sarcastically. Peyton just rolled her eyes before focusing her eyes back on the court, or maybe on a certain other blonde. But she definitely wasn't alone. Brooke cracked a slight smile at the banter that was going on. She thought it was funny how they could make fun of their supposed 'friend' and still be associated with each other. Ever since she had moved Haley and Rachel would make a comment about Peyton but then say she was still cool to hang out with. Brooke had yet to see that person that she would want to be friends with, and she was hoping she would soon.

"I thought you guys said she was cool to hang out with," Brooke said to Rachel.

"Well she is, but lately she's been way more up in Lucas' grill than usual," Rachel explained. "Plus, she's threatened by you."

"Me?" Brooke asked.

Haley narrowed her eyes, "As if you didn't know." It was true. Brooke wasn't an idiot. She knew she was gorgeous, but she didn't think it would help her spot at the school with showing it off too much. She also knew that Lucas noticed her almost as much as she noticed him. Which was basically all the time.

"Whatever," Brooke sighed, just as Lucas scored the winning point with a fade away three pointer. The gym erupted in cheers, so much that she had to cover her ears with her pom pom clad hands. She laughed, feeling the adrenaline and the excitement of winning just as much as everyone else. Never in her life had she seen such an enthusiastic crowd at a simple basketball game. But as Brooke had come to realize, things in Tree Hill went a little bit differently.

Rachel dug her nails into Brooke's arm and began sprinting towards the center of the gym, where the fans had poured out on, celebrating with each other and the rest of the team. Nathan and Owen were holding Lucas on each shoulder. Lucas held his fist up in the air victoriously, a huge grin on his sweaty face. He looked around for a brief second before his eyes rested on Brooke's, who smirked and gave him a wink, which only made his night ten times more better.

"And now, time for the after party," Rachel hissed in Brooke's ear.

* * *

The grass yellow and green, correlating with the present season. The trees hung lazily in the night breeze, leaves falling every now and then. He sat there, picking the leaves up in his hands, just to crumple them and let them fall to the floor. He didn't even know why he was here. The reason, was simply confusing, because if that was the reason, then why wasn't he here a long time ago? A gravestone in front of him, and Lucas suddenly felt nervous and almost ashamed.

It had been three years ago that Lucas was in this spot, and that was it. After that funeral, he gave the grave one last look before leaving, and for the past years, he had yet to come back. Lucas didn't know if he still wasn't over his dad's death, or if he was just being a pansy, but he could never bring himself to actually get in his car and drive to Keith's grave. He didn't know why tonight was any different either. He didn't know why it was this night he was going to see his father for the first time in three years.

Lucas knew for a fact that Nathan had been to their father's grave a lot. He had proof from the set of flowers laying in front of him right now. But after all, Nathan had always been the one to just let things go. Lucas was never like that. He could never just accept something for the way it was, and move on and learn from it. This night wasn't any different except for the fact that he was about to fight a guy for the last time. Or at least, that's what he chose to believe right now.

"I don't even know why I'm here," Lucas muttered to himself. It was pointless. His dad was dead, and there was nothing to it. He felt like he just completely let down his whole mentality, and now he was here, trying to apologize to his father for whatever it is he may be proned to do.

"I don't know if you were there the first time I got the crap beat out of me by someone twice my size, and I don't know if you were there when I beat this guy so hard that he had to be put in the hospital for two weeks. And, I don't know why I'm here when it doesn't matter," Lucas explained. "You know, when I first got involved in this whole fighting thing, I didn't think about what you would say or what you would think. Me and Nate didn't even care when Mom thought. It was just a way to get away from it and fight out all this frustration and hurt that we were feeling at the time. And now that it's been quite a while since you and Mom have left us, I know that Nathan's in a better place now."

"There's the difference between me and Nathan. He's moved on from your death, along with everything else. He's just doing this fighting so that we can make a little extra money and let him live a good life for now. But me, I'm not over it, and I don't think I ever will be. Call me sick, but I feel good beating someone down. And tonight, I'm going to beat this one guy so hard that he's going to wish that he didn't trash me and someone that I'm getting to know. He'll know."

"I'm sure he will know," said a voice behind him. Lucas turned around to see Whitey standing there, a Bible tucked under his arm. Now, Lucas didn't exactly have the best relationship with his basketball coach, and life coach if you wanted to call it that. After his father had died, Whitey had been the one standing next to him at the funeral, telling him to be strong for his brother, and for his mom. Lucas never really understood it at the time, until recently. Lucas knew that things tended to rest on his shoulders, whether he wanted them to or not. Whitey had let him know that. What with his old coach having surgery and going through tough times, he hadn't gotten a good talking to in awhile.

Whitey knew perfectly well what Lucas and Nathan had been doing, trying to earn some extra money. The brothers knew that Whitey didn't agree with it, and if the boys were left in his responsibility, there would've been none of that. But, they weren't, and Whitey couldn't physically do anything about it, or prove it, at that. But it didn't mean he couldn't smack Lucas upside the head with his holy Bible and tell him to grow up.

"Good evening, Whitey," Lucas said, trying to make his tone as polite as possible. Lucas respected Whitey more than anybody else, but this was a time where he just didn't want preaching about what he was doing was wrong. Frankly, he didn't care, and plus, he had some ass whooping to do in a couple of hours.

"I didn't expect you to be around here anytime soon," Whitey said, taking a couple of steps closer.

"Yeah, well, tonight was a pretty good win. I thought Dad would've needed to know about it," Lucas said.

"It was a pretty outstanding game. But I know that's not why you're here," Whitey said knowingly. He should have known. Nothing ever got past Whitey. Whether he was recovering from surgery or not, Whitey would never be left out in the dark, no matter what.

"Sorry Coach, but I'm not really in the mood for a lecture if that's what you're aiming for," Lucas said, getting up and dusting his jeans away from the possible dirt.

"There's no lecture, Lucas," Whitey said. "I just thought you were looking for absolution."

"Absolution? From what?" he asked, annoyed. He respected and cared about Whitey, but this was just ridiculous. He didn't like thinking about his emotions, let alone talking about them.

"From what you're about to do tonight. Or any other night. I know what you're up to, Lucas, and one of these days it's going to come back and hurt you, your brother, and whoever it is you care about. I would hate for you and Nathan to waste away your amount of talent and potential." And with that, he disappeared beyond the trees.

It was now pitch dark right now. The only thing that Lucas saw was the gleam of his mustang. It was a little eery, knowing that Whitey could read him, just like that. Not only that, but it made him a lot more cautious. He knew that Whitey cared about him and Nathan, but if he thought that helping was ratting on them, then there was no doubt in Lucas' mind that Whitey would do it. He felt a vibration in his pants pocket. Sighing, he fished it out of his pocket.

"Yeah, Nate?" he asked, talking in a soft voice. After all, he was in a freaking cemetery.

"Dude, where are you? You were supposed to pick us up like, fifteen minutes ago."

"Sorry about that. I got a little carried away. I'm on my way, so I should be there in about five minutes," Lucas explained, already opening up his car door and revving the engine.

"Where the hell are you, anyway?" his brother's curious voice said on the other line.

"I'll tell you about it later," Lucas stated before hanging up. He buckled his seatbelt with one hand and put the car in reverse with the other. With his short conversation with Whitey, Lucas felt ever more annoyed more than he previously was. This wasn't supposed to be happening. He just had a sweet win for his basketball team, a chill weekend ahead of him, and Brooke was going to be at the party. He wasn't supposed to have a serious worry on his mind at the moment. But, like always, things weren't how they were supposed to be. Whitey's words kept on repeating in his head as he sped down the dark street, the neon signs from his dash the only light that he saw in the corner of his eye.

"What the hell does he know?" he mumbled as he pulled into his driveway. Nathan, Owen, Jake, and Peyton, low and behold, were already standing around the porch. Owen was already half asleep standing up while Jake was sitting on the beam, playing his acoustic guitar. Peyton just sat there, just as anxious as Nathan for Lucas to get there. Lucas continued to sit there, waiting for the group to make their way in the car. Nathan hopped into the passenger seat after everyone else had climbed in the back.

Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a pack of Camels, sticking one in his mouth. "Any one of you got a lighter?" he asked. Peyton leaped forward, like usual. In her hand was a black Bic lighter. He said nothing as he stuck the end of the cigarette into the flame. Owen was way too tired to say anything, and Jake found it best not to say anything at all. Every once in awhile they would get into these moods, all of them would. They had come from hard lives, and sometimes they couldn't help but think into the past.

Nathan continued to glance at his brother next to him, wondering what the hell could have him so tweaked. There was no way that Lucas was going to tell him in front of the guys, or Peyton at that. Owen and Jake were their good friends, but there were stuff that they just couldn't tell them. Owen and Jake understood that, so they didn't even bother trying to get to the bottom of it. Nathan knew better than to harass Lucas when it seemed that he was in no mood at all.

By the time the group had made it over to Rachel's house, the party was in full swing. The party had flooded into the front yard, and probably the back yard. Everyone was holding plastic cups and their eyes were already glazed over. Lucas got of the car, stomping his cigarette in the process. As he made his way up to the house, he felt Nathan hot on his heels. Sighing, Lucas slowed his pace, there was really no point in trying to hide this from his brother.

"I went to see dad's grave," Lucas said when he was sure Nathan and only Nathan could hear him.

"Really?" Nathan asked, looking at Lucas. "Have you even been there before?"

Lucas shook his head, "No, not since the funeral. I don't know, I just felt like I needed to be there for the first time in awhile. Anyway, I ran into Whitey on my way back."

"And?" Nathan asked. There were already people sprawled along the front steps, either already passed out of well on their way. There even was a guy about to puke chunks into the potted plant in front of the entrance door. Nathan and Lucas dodged all of these things, not really caring that they were in an inappropriate place to talk about this.

"And, it's nothing," Lucas shrugged. "He's just warning us about street fighting. He said that one of these days it's about to come and bite us in the ass basically." The whole house was basically full, and the kitchen was no exception. Bottles and bottles of alcohol filled the counter tops, and people surrounded them, mixing different drinks with each other or with soda. On the other side of the kitchen was the entrance to the living room, where he saw a bored but very gorgeous brunette. Brooke Davis.

It wasn't like they hadn't heard this before, because they had, even from the people that didn't even mean anything to them. Most of the town knew what the Scott brothers were up to, but rarely anyone said anything. It's not like they could do anything about it, and they didn't want the two ill tempered boys of their hands. It wasn't really illegal, and there was no other close relative that could do something about it. They just chose not to worry about it at all. They were going to do what they wanted to do, regardless.

"Do you think he's right about that?" Nathan asked, popping two bottles of Corona with two limes, handing one to his brother.

Lucas smirked, taking a swig, "Probably."

* * *

She had known of his presence the minute he walked through the door. Of course, she was a little shocked to still see his face surrounded by smoke, showing that he had just finished smoking a cigarette, the smoke leaving his mouth. But she shrugged it off, there was a lot that she didn't know about Lucas. The two brothers seemed to be in serious conversation when they first walked in, and it had been taken all the way through the party and into the kitchen. When she first caught his eye, he had completely abandoned his brother.

Brooke was dressed in a short white skirt and a tight red tank top that reached low enough to show a hint of cleavage along with wedged heels. Her hair was in loose curls and she went for the smokey eyeliner, which always caused a few more heads to turn. As if they wouldn't turn anyway. She rubbed her lips together, spreading her lipgloss around before taking another sip from her bottle of Smirnoff. Rachel had disappeared somewhere as soon as Owen had appeared, and Brooke wasn't even going to wonder what the hell they were doing. Haley had met up with Jake and his guitar, and they were somewhere outside, harmonizing, or whatever it is they do. Turns out that Haley was a kick ass singer too. What couldn't she do?

As Lucas came nearer to her, Brooke failed to believe that Lucas could never look good. Dressed in jeans and a white Lacoste polo shirt, it was hard to believe that Lucas had just played a full court school basketball game, and had won. What made her even more amazed, was that he was walking towards her with a smile on his face. It made Brooke a little skeptical, knowing that he had just been immersed in a conversation with his brother, and was now looking at her like nothing happened. She couldn't let it bother her though, she had just met Lucas a couple of weeks ago, and she didn't want to compromise whatever they had because she couldn't mind her own business.

"Well aren't you just a little late," Brooke said, giving him the once over.

Lucas shrugged, "It's called being casually late. Plus I had some stuff I had to do before heading over here."

"Eh you didn't really miss anything, other than Tim in the middle of giving us a strip show."

He chuckled, "Was he that shit faced?"

Brooke smirked, "That's the thing. He wasn't drunk." They continued to stand around laughing. At the other side of the room, Peyton sat on a crowded couch with a plastic cup in one hand. As she took a gulp, her eyes stayed glared on Brooke and Lucas. Brooke was the first to catch this, feeling kind of awkward talking to Lucas.

"Are you ever going to kick her out of your life?" Brooke asked suddenly. Lucas followed her eyes, realizing that Brooke was looking at Peyton, who was looking at them with a stony, cold look. He couldn't say he cared, but it obviously meant something to Brooke to be mentioning it. And she was right, when was he going to finally tell Peyton that enough was enough?

Lucas sighed, "I really don't know. One thing that you have to understand about Peyton is that she's had a hard life. She's been messed up for awhile. I don't know, when we got together, it seemed that things were finally going to go right for her. But when we ended, she was trying to hold onto anything. I guess I don't have the heart to hurt her like that."

"Aren't you hurting her by letting her hang on?" Brooke asked, suddenly realizing that here she was, talking to Lucas about his and Peyton's relationship. Brooke knew that Peyton was right, there was a lot that she didn't know about their relationship or their past together. She didn't know why she was going back into this again.

"I could be," Lucas shrugged. "I'll always care about Peyton a lot, but I can't be that person for her anymore. I want out, but just the thought of telling her to get out of my life would just completely break her. And I don't want Peyton doing something stupid."

Brooke's eyes narrowed, "Do you think she would actually, do something like that?"

"That's the thing, I don't really know. I would just hate for her to do something compeletely stupid. I don't know, if I can come up with another way, then I'll do it. But for now, I guess I'll just have to deal with her." It felt kind of weird talking about this at a Friday night party, with Brooke at that, but Lucas had a feeling this would be an ever-present issue.

"Sorry," Brooke piped before taking another long swig from her bottle.

Lucas stared at her amused, "Sorry? For what?"

"It's really none of my business about you and Peyton. I mean, I just moved here a couple of weeks ago and here I am already trying to get into your business. So, I think I'll just shut up right now," Brooke blurted, finally catching her breath.

"Brooke, it's okay. Breathe," he said jokingly. "I don't mind if you want to know more about me and Peyton. It's pretty confusing. If I didn't want to tell you, then I wouldn't have told you."

She nodded slightly, scoping out the party. Her eyes caught with Rachel's, who had suddenly appeared back onto the scene along with Owen. Rachel gave Brooke a wink before leading Owen into the kitchen, where without a doubt, they were looking to get a drink. She continued to look around her, anywhere but at Lucas, the embarassment catching up. Lucas felt that the Brooke was pretty much getting dragged into his own personal soap opera. He didn't want it to be like that.

"Enough about all this serious stuff," Lucas said. "Let's go outside and see what Tim could possibly be up to now." Brooke smiled, thankful that he had been the one to change the subject first, because frankly she couldn't think of anything else to say. Following Lucas, they made their way through the slew of people. It still amazed her at the amount of people that could fit into a house, even though it was a pretty big house. The backyard was no exception either. There were ticki poles lining around the lawn, with a huge pool in the very middle. There were some people that were skinny dipping. Of course, Tim being one of them. Nathan was standing around with some guys from the team, and it was safe to say everyone was wasted.

With every step they took, more people stopped mid sentence into their conversations to check out the two people that had just entered the backyard. Everyone knew that Lucas was a certified hottie, along with the rest of his crew. Brooke was so far known as the new girl, but it's not like they failed to acknowledge the fact that she was gorgeous. You put two and two together, and that equals a lot of possibilities. It was safe to say that everyone was thinking the same thing. Lucas and Brooke were way too attractive to not be together.

"What's with everyone staring?" Brooke mumbled under her breath, keeping close to Lucas as they sat down on plastic chairs.

"Why are you so surprised? You must get looked at a lot, right?" Lucas asked, causing Brooke to blush slightly.

"I'm just going to ignore that," Brooke said.

Lucas smirked, "Ignore what? Brooke, you know you're gorgeous. You don't have to play the humble act with me."

"There is no act. I just don't like making a huge deal out of it." It certainly made her stomach do back flips with Lucas commenting on her looks. At least he thought she was good looking. But the more she tried to act like she didn't hear an immense amount of noise inside the house, the more louder it seemed to get. And she wasn't the only one wondering what the hell all the racket was about. Everyone outside had turned their attention to the back door, trying to figure out who was creating all the noise. But Lucas already knew who it was.

He looked over at Nathan, who gave him a questioning look. Lucas nodded, and they both knew that Felix had arrived along with his friends. Within seconds they all emerged, wearing the latest threads by brands that they haven't even heard of. Felix with his hair so geled Lucas swore he could do his homework on it. Just staring at him you could tell that he was already ready to fight. His wrists and feet were wrapped, along with the fact that he was wearing shorts and a simple wife beater. Felix stared at the blonde with cockiness, and deep behind the irises Lucas saw fear. He would've laughed, but that completely destroyed the dramatic effect.

"Scott!" Felix yelled. "Are you ready to do this?"

Lucas looked around for a brief second before shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know. Are you?" At this point, some of the guys had begun clearing the backyard of all chairs and tables. The naked girls escaped from the pool, wrapping towels around themselves. What had been a crazy and upbeat night had turned into something different. Even though they were all teenagers and liked to have their fun, they knew that there were some stuff you couldn't play around with. This was one of those things. The guys at school street fought for some more money, or to show that they were the shit. Either way, everyone else stayed out of it because you could walk out seriously hurt.

As Brooke looked on, she felt a little bit awkward being next to Lucas when he was about to embark on a fight. Some people stared at her, wondering if she was the reason the two boys wanted to fight each other so badly. Frankly, she didn't know. But either way, Felix and Lucas were going to fight, and someone was going to lose.

"You okay? You didn't bring any clothes," Nathan mumbled into his brother's ear.

Lucas shook his head, "You're right. I didn't."

"So? What are you supposed to do?"

"Wing it," he answered, slipping off his shoes until he was left in only socks. He slipped off his shirt, now only in mere jeans. With all the thick tension, Lucas almost completely forgot that Brooke was right next to him. He glanced at her, but he didn't see fear. He saw curiousity and almost a little bit of jumpiness. Well, that wasn't what he was expecting. Felix was ready and was standing right in the middle of the green grass. His cronies stood behind him, shouting words of encouragement and insults on Lucas' part. This would be the part where Lucas was supposed to walk up to Felix, and the fight would begin. But not without a little ounce of incentive.

"Hey," Lucas said, walking closer to Brooke. "You want to get out of here after this?"

Brooke looked at him surprisingly, "Uhm, are you sure you're going to be okay after this?" Sure, it sounded like she thought he was going to lose, but Brooke wanted to know. After all, even though Lucas had won the fight in the Pit, he walked away bruised and battered.

Lucas grinned, "Yeah, if he doesn't whack me with his head." Brooke smirked, before taking a look at Felix, who did have a vast amount of hair gel in his hair.

"Alright. I'll be here then," was all she said.

"Scott! I thought we were going to do this. You can screw your girlfriend later," he said with a Chesire cat grin on his face. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"You know Taggaro, when are you ever going to learn to just keep your damn mouth shut," he asked.

"Whenever you decide to make me."

Lucas smirked, "That's very sweet Felix, but I don't roll that way." This caused some snickers in the crowd. Nathan chuckled to himself, knowing that this was going to be one funny brawl. If there was anything that he and his brother had learned about fighting, it was that insults made you panick, and Felix was already fidgeting and his ears were hot red. Nathan was confident that his brother was going to come out on top. Again. Felix was all bark and no bite, and Lucas knew that. All that was needed was a hit.

Back and forth they went, both boys putting their all into every punch and kick. Lucas had to admit that he wasn't fighting at his best tonight. He didn't want to fight for one thing, and he didn't think he would've had to. His frustrations had gotten him, but he would never let Felix beat him. Felix seemed to be packing every punch, wanting to finally win. The guy was desperate to beat Lucas, giving him the essential right to brag for however long he wanted to at school. Lucas would never be able to live it down. Felix swung at Lucas, who ducked and elbowed him in the back of the head. It turns out Rachel was right, she would have to water down the grass to rid it of all the blood that was being shed. Lucas already had a busted lip and Felix was bleeding from his ear.

Nathan continued to glance around the backyard, making sure that there were no neighbors that had entered to see what the commotion was about. In all truth, what was about to go down right now was one hundred percent illegal. Unless you were fighting under a federation, all fighting was illegal. No one ever came down to the Pit anyway, so it's not like they were always worried. But this was something different. Lucas and Felix were about to fight in Rachel's backyard, where pretty much anyone could hear what was going on. It didn't help that there were already bets placed again, and Tim was walking around collecting. Jake and Owen had made their way into the front too, guitar and Rachel nowhere in sight.

Whenever Lucas was fighting, no matter where they were, Nathan always made it his duty to watch out for his brother, and vice versa. You never really knew what your opponent was going to do. And they would pretty much do anything to gain a couple of hundred dollars, or receive authentic bragging rights. This was Felix Taggaro; resident Tree Hill rat. It was a good thing that Nathan was watching too, otherwise he would've missed the exchange of hands of the ever so painful brass knuckles.

"Lucas watch out!" Nathan shouted. If twin forces were even real, he wished that Lucas would recover and at least duck. Felix drew his arm back, trying to make the impact unspeakable. Before Lucas could even think, he was met with an excruciating pain in his jaw. It took him less than a split second to realize that Felix took a cheap shot and completely knocked him out with brass knuckles. As he continued to lay on the grass, he heard shouting and running. Frankly, Lucas was in too much pain to really care.

Even before Felix threw the punch, Owen came jogging down the steps with a metal baseball bat in one hand. He wasn't stupid, but something told him that Felix and his friends were. Nathan and Jake both went to the side and each grabbed a steel foldable chairs. Before Felix knew it, Owen had drew back and whacked him across his bare back, no doubt bruising his kidneys pretty bad. Nathan and Jake continued to swing at Felix and friends, knocking each one over one by one. Owen tossed off his shirt before taking two of them at a time, punching them over and over again. Nathan and Jake did the same, completely annihilating the group.

A few moments later, Lucas emerged from the grass. Sure, he could barely see, his own blood clouding his vision. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened. One of Felix's friends had slyly given him a set of brass knuckles. Felix quickly shoved them in his shorts just seconds before the fighting began, literally. Right after a moment of realization, all Lucas saw was red. Getting up, all he wanted to do was fucking beat the shit out of Felix and the rest of his buddies he had brought with him. Swinging left and right, Lucas took out everyone in his path, almost knocking out Jake in the process. He held one guy in a headlock until his face turned purple, then began to go straight for the faces. Lucas hoped that their jaws were hurting just as much as his was right now. It hurt to even show an ounce of anger in his expression. If he wasn't so pissed off, Lucas would've passed out from the pain.

The party-goers knew the minute they saw the glint of the brass knuckles that something bad was going to go down. Sure, all the guys standing around could have gotten involved and tried to pry them all off of each other, but there was no point. There would still be a rivalry, and if you did try to interfere, that was like signing your own death sentence. You didn't do it.

As Haley and Brooke looked on in fear and disgust at what was going on, Rachel just stood beside them, watching somberly. Haley had only seen one other fight like this before, and it took her two months to actually start talking to Lucas and the guys again. She felt really strongly about them not fighting, especially in a group brawl. Rachel, on the other hand, had seen this numerous times, and for awhile she was a little freaked out. But now, she didn't really feel anything except being worried for the boys. They were good, but you never knew.

She almost threw up. Growing up in California, you see crazy stuff all the time. But never had Brooke seen something this intense and completely barbaric. It could be considered anger in the very smallest of senses. It was like there was a whole other group of boys fighting. This wasn't the nice guys that she had met on her first day of school. This wasn't Lucas, or at least, that's not what she thought he was. It was disgusting and scary. She wished that Felix would've just played fair.

Owen took one more hit to Felix before dropping the bat. For awhile no one made a single move. By this time, Lucas' jaw had hurt even more, and his fists were sore too from punching so hard. They all took one more look at the carnage before exiting the backyard. As soon as the fence gate closed shut, everyone rose in uproar, either collecting their winning share, or recapping what had just happened. People were already pulling out the water hose and putting the chairs back where they belonged.

Felix and his friends were just picking themselves up from the ground. And Brooke had to admit, they looked rough. It was like every move they made was excruciating pain, and it didn't look like it would get any better by Monday. But, she could safely say they deserved it. Haley was taking sips from a glass of water while Rachel was tipping back shots.

"Was that brutal or what?" Rachel asked, checking her watch, which read 12:45.

"Or what?" Haley exclaimed. "That was like watching a horror movie and the climax keeps on replaying over and over again."

"Sounds like sex to me," Rachel mumbled.

"Yeah, that was kind of intense," Brooke answered. "I can't believe Felix cheated."

"Well he's a dumbass. Seriously, if you're going to cheat, at least have a getaway plan."

"Yeah, but they didn't have to beat them within an inch of their lives," Haley said.

"Haley, you are way to naive for this," Rachel said. "If you try to cheat those guys, you're going to get burned."

"I can't believe they just left like that," Brooke said. "I mean, they didn't even say anything."

"Believe me, it's better that they just walk away."

"Does it bother you that Owen could potentially kill someone?" Brooke asked. She didn't mean to sound sarcastic, because she really wanted to know. And she didn't blame her.

Rachel shrugged, "I don't know. Sometimes. But as long as he's not hurting me, then I guess I can't complain."

"I guess that makes sense. Well, it's been a fun night ladies, but I'm going to head out," Brooke said, downing her drink.

"Are you sure you can drive?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I only had one drink," Brooke shrugged.

"Hey there's cheer practice tomorrow at 10," Rachel reminded her.

"Gee thanks," Brooke mumbled with a wave of her hand. Good thing she wasn't drunk off her ass like the rest of the squad, because the run tomorrow morning would absolutely kill her. As she made her way from the kitchen to the front door, she was met with questioning stares. And it wasn't the kind you got from being the new girl. She knew that people were going to look at her a whole lot differently from now on. So much for keeping a low cover in this town.

Peyton was sitting on the front steps, sketching, like always. She glanced up at Brooke before steering her eyes back to her drawing. The last time she had seen Peyton that night, it had been when she was in the middle of a conversation with Lucas. Although they weren't mecessarily friends, Brooke was observant enough to know that Peyton had come with Lucas

"What are you doing out here?" Brooke asked, fishing her keys out of her purse.

She shrugged, "Drawing. It beats hanging around in there."

"Maybe. So, I know that you rode over here with Lucas and the guys, and now they're nowhere to be found."

"And? What's your point?" Peyton asked, not bothering to stop what she was doing.

"My point is that I know where you live. I'll give you a ride." Before the words even left her mouth, Brooke was surprised at her offer. Let's face it; her and Peyton were nowhere near being friends, and something told her that they would never be. But the girl had been royally ditched by her carpool, and it's not like anyone else was offering.

"Why would you want to give me a ride?" Peyton asked curiously.

Brooke shrugged, "Because I'm not a bitch like you might think I am. Plus, who else is going to drive you home?" Maybe she was lying just a little bit. When you got her at the right place at the right time, she could be a high classified bitch. But not tonight at least. She had to drive Peyton home, and she had cheer practice tomorrow morning. The bitchiness could wait.

It felt a little weird having Peyton in her car. But all she had to look to was the fact that it took only ten minutes to get from Rachel's house from Peyton's. Although Brooke lived right next door to Rachel, she considered it a good deed for the day to drive home the girl that hated her. Peyton continued to stare out the window, her wiry blonde hair blowing with the top down. It looked like Peyton thought this as just as awkward as she did. But she couldn't go on with all the silence.

"This feels weird, doesn't it?" Brooke asked finally, breaking the tension.

Peyton shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. After all, we are after the same guy."

"Who says I'm after him?"

"Who says you're not?" Peyton asked.

"I know it kind of seems that way," Brooke began. "But me and Lucas are just friends. We shouldn't even be having this conversation."

"Maybe we shouldn't, but we are. I know you know that Lucas likes you. But he's just looking for something to keep his mind off of what's bothering him."

"What makes you say that?" Brooke asked, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of her.

"Because that's what Lucas does. He pulls you in with his charm, those blue eyes, and that edge that every girl wants in a guy. Pretty soon after, you won't be able to stay away from him. Then one day you'll come to realize that there's a lot more to Lucas than what you thought. And you won't like it one bit."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

"You bet. The only difference is, I still loved Lucas after I knew the real him. Will you be able to say the same?"

* * *

This was the part that Jake hated most about fighting. The aftermath, when you were sprawled out on a couch, every move that you made causing you to wince in pain. Sure, you got them just as good as they got you, but the bruises and the cuts would still show for it. Since he was the one that was less hurt, it left him with the duty of getting ice, bandages, and peroxide for everyone. This was usually something Peyton did, but they had left her in a shade of fury. Jake didn't worry about it though, she could find a ride somewhere.

Piling ice into a bowl along with Zip-lock bags, he made his way back into the living room, where Nathan and Owen were laying at. Their eyes were closed, but they were still awake. Setting the bowl down on the coffee table, Jake began to check out the cut he got across his cheekbone. It was messed up quite a bit, but he was sure that it would gain the attention of even more ladies, just aching to comfort him in his time of pain.

"Damn't, I forgot my guitar back at Rachel's," Jake suddenly realized, breaking the painful silence. Literally.

"That's the least of your worries," Owen mumbled. He had been the first one to basically retaliate, taking a hit to Felix. Essentially, he had almost been the most hurt. Sure, Owen was bigger than most of the guys around him, but he wasn't the only one who could fight. That was their downfall. Everytime.

"Where's Lucas?" Jake asked.

"In his room. I think it's best that he stay in there, too," Nathan said, switching on the television.

"So he got knocked out with brass knuckles. It's not like that's never happened before."

"You know Lucas. He's suffering from a bruised ego, along with other things," Jake added.

Owen smirked, "I'd be embarassed too if I got taken out by Felix."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Have some sympathy, Owen."

"Alright. It's not like this thing is over anyway. When Lucas is ready, he's going to be out for Felix."

"Well that will certainly put a damper on his relationship with Brooke," Jake said.

"Relationship?" Owen asked.

"Well, not really like that," Nathan began. "But he obviously likes her and she likes him."

"Does she still like him after witnessing what just happened?"

"Brooke doesn't strike me as someone who would freak out too much, but I don't know. Anyways, I'm going to go check on him," Nathan said, slowly making his way up from the couch.

"Good luck with that," Owen said, leaning back, flipping through channels.

Lucas was laying on his back when Nathan entered, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes remained calm, but his posture was stiff. You could barely see the bump that had formed on his jaw, but he was sure once you turned on the light, it would be a different story. Leaning against the doorway, Nathan couldn't help but feel bad for his brother.

"I was hoping the twin forces would work," he said, throwing a bag of ice down on the bed.

"Me too," Lucas groaned, picking up the bad and bringing it to his mouth.

"How's that jaw?" Nathan asked, sitting down at Lucas' desk.

"In an immense amount of pain. I sweare Nate if I see Felix at school on Monday..."

"Slow down cowboy. Believe me, we all want a piece of him just as much as you. But I'm pretty sure they got the message."

Lucas shook his head, "It just pisses me off so bad that they could just get away with it."

"They didn't get away with it Luke. We took care of..."

"We didn't take care of it," Lucas interrupted. "That's not enough, Nate."

"Then what is enough? Because I know what you're thinking and my answer is no."

"Well what do you suggest we do? I don't know what his problem is, Nathan. It seems like the more I beat the crap out of him, the more he wants me to beat the crap out of him. I mean seriously, when is he just doing to stop?" Lucas asked.

Nathan sighed, "Listen, just let your face heal for starters, and by the time you get back to the Pit, you'll be as good as new to settle this thing once and for all. I for one am tired of beating the shit out of Felix and his friends over and over again."

Lucas continued to stare out at the ceiling. Not only was he pissed that Felix got a good knock out of him, he felt embarassed to have Brooke actually see him fall like that. It did a lot to a guy's ego. Lucas also didn't want her to see that side of him, at least not right away. Usually when he was fighting, he felt compelled to add a little humor to the whole thing. Most guys were so serious that it basically took the whole technique and experience to shame. He just hoped he didn't scare her away.

"That was some party, though."


	6. Approaching A Constant

**Author's Note;; **I'm sorry that I haven't gotten around to updating on another chapter. My laptop was acting up a little bit concerning the Internet, along with my desktop computer, which is now dunzo. Lightning struck my house a couple of weeks ago, &the lightning blew up some chips in my PC. So right now I'm using a friend's until I can get set up with something else. Thanks for all the reviews though, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I was a little apprehensive because I didn't want people to be a little turned off by the fight scene. Just to let you guys know, there's going to be various fight scenes throughout the story, btw. I'm not sure who it was, but someone said that this fic reminded them on the movie Never Back Down, and I have to say that you are right! LOL. I saw that movie with my boyfriend, and now it's one of my favorites, I suggest you guys check it out. Sean Farris shirtless sounds good to me!

Anyways, moving on. I started this chapter a little while ago. Actually I started writing it right after I posted the previous chapter. This one has a lot to do with the aftermath of Rachel's little house party. I know it doesn't seem like it would be a big deal, but it is. We've got Haley pissed at Nathan, Brooke's ignoring Lucas, it's this huge conflict over once again, street fighting. It doesn't seem like it would be a big issue, but it is concerning friendships and even relationships. And we also have a little conflict over Rachel/Owen. I've been needing to incorporate Owen along with Jake, which is shown in this chapter a little bit. I'm going with the fact that Jake is a musician and Owen is the 'boy from the other side of the tracks,' if that's what you call it lol. But there's still a lot to understand and figure out about Lucas and Nathan. I'm still rolling around w/ ideas, so don't hesitate to share some of your suggestions with me!

I know that I'm babbling, but my other fic, Things We Never Thought, will be updated within the next couple of days. I've kind of been in a rut with it, I wasn't really sure where else to go because I haven't thought about it in awhile. But, I got some ideas now, so it should be done shortly. Also, I have another one, Where I End & You Begin. It's my own story that I've written with my own main character. It's a bit gritty and is in it's beginning stages, but when I kind of read over it, I'll get some idea of where to go from there. So you guys should check it out. It's not exactly Brucas, but it makes for some good drama. And who doesn't enjoy that? Enjoy & Review!!

Chapter Six;; Approaching a Constant.

_Compute the limit five x squared minus eight x minus thirteen over x squared minus five. Compute the limit five x squared minus eight x minus thirteen over x squared minus five. Compute the limit five x squared minus eight x minus thirteen over x squared minus five. Compute the limit five x squared minus eight x minus thirteen over x..._

"Haley I don't get this shit," Nathan finally exclaimed. They had been sitting in the Tutor Center for all of their Study Hall, and yet he had failed to understand Problem 1.

"Did you even read the problem?" Haley asked, taking his book and looking at the problem.

"Um, yeah, and I still don't get it," he answered stubbornly. It had been a week since the infamous house party, and Haley had yet to let up on Nathan, in any way possible. Nathan didn't know it, but Haley had given him problems to Calculus, not Pre Calculus like she was supposed to. There was a big difference.

Haley sighed, "Nathan, have you even paid attention in the least bit during class?"

"Yeah, I have. We just weren't studying this crap," Nathan said.

"Maybe if you paid more attention, you would recognize this stuff," Haley said.

Nathan shut the book, "Is this really about math, Haley? Or is this about what happened at Rachel's?" Ever since the party, Haley had him at arm's length, mostly ignoring him and only talking to him when she had to. It's not like she was mad at him, she just thought that there had to have been a better way to solve it. It was a eye opener to see Nathan potentially killing somebody just because they cheated in a fight against his brother. He had a right to be angry, but the thought of things getting out of hand like that was scary.

Haley scoffed, "Not everything is about you and your job occupation."

"But I think this is. I know how much you don't like what happened. I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry for what you guys did, Nathan. If you really felt bad about it, you wouldn't do it anymore."

"You don't get it, Haley. Felix hurt my brother. If someone hurt one of your sisters, you would want to get them back, right?"

"I wouldn't beat them to a bloody pulp," Haley shot. Come to think of it, she didn't need this right now. Right after study hall she had three more hours of school, following cheer practice, and then another tutor session. How the hell could she possibly be mad at Nathan under these circumstances? She couldn't.

Nathan sighed, "Look, I'm sorry that I have to do this. But it shouldn't intervere with tutoring me. If you really think about it, if I get good grades, I can get into Duke, and then I won't ever have to fight ever again. So in reality, you would be doing me a favor right now by dropping this thing right now."

"That's great Nathan; using that as a way to get me to forgive you."

"I'm not using it for anything," Nathan began. "Do you need time to think about this before we talk again?"

Haley nodded, grabbing her bag, "I think I do. I'll text you or something for our next session." As she exited the Tutor Center, Nathan slumped back in his seat. Out of all the people in the world, Haley James was not supposed to be the one mad at him. In the third grade, she had single handedly managed to turn the classroom clock fifteen minutes ahead so Nathan would have enough time to get to basketball practice and work on his free throws for his dad. In the tenth grade, Nathan liked Kaitlyn Blackwell, and had sent her a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to her classroom. Only problem was, Nathan as dumb then too, and spelled her name wrong. Luckily, Haley had been wandering the halls and had stopped the delivery boy, corrected the spelling error, and Nathan and Kaitlyn were dating by the end of lunch.

That was just the way that Nathan and Haley worked. They had known each other since they were toddlers, and their parents had always been really good friends. When Keith died, nothing really changed, other than the fact that they were getting older, and Nathan and Lucas got involved in street fighting. Things weren't supposed to turn out like this. Haley was never supposed to care what he did, as long as they were still cool in the end. It seriously bothered Nathan that Haley was mad at him.

Wandering along the halls, he thought of a way to get back into the girl's good graces. Only problem was, he had no freaking idea. She was mad because of what he did, but Nathan couldn't apologize and promise he wasn't going to do it again. That was something that he might never be able to get out of. Maybe Lucas would be able to give him advice.

"Speaking of Lucas," Nathan mumbled. Right in front of him was the chick that Lucas had been hung up on ever since the girl showed her face in the halls. Brooke Davis. Nathan had to admit, the girl was gorgeous. But he hadn't seen her around all week, and his brother sure wasn't mentioning her this week either. She was at her locker when he decided that he might as well introduce himself. Only for his brother.

"Hey, you're Brooke, right?" he asked, leaning against the locker next to hers. Brooke glanced up at him before returning back to her locker.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Well I'm Nathan. But I guess you already knew that."

Brooke nodded, shutting her locker, "Yeah, I do. No offense, Nathan, but what did you want?"

"I didn't want anything, I just thought that we should meet, since you're talking to my brother and all."

She chuckled, "Me and Lucas, we're not talking."

"Well, you guys are into each other though, right?" Nathan asked, growing more confused.

"Still wrong. Look, me and Lucas were talking. Not anymore."

"Not anymore? Okay, was he being an asshole, because he can be like that when--"

"Look, Nathan," she emphasized. "Maybe I'm just like every other girl that can't get past this whole fighting thing. Maybe I just need some time to get over the disgusting sight I saw last Friday. There was never any committment with me and Lucas anyway." With that, she brushed forward, leaving him in the dust.

"This might be a lot more harder than I thought," Nathan mumbled, just as Lucas approached him.

Call him an asshole of a brother, but Nathan couldn't stand to look his brother in the face. Literally. Not only was his eye bruised and slightly swollen, but his jaw was another force to be reckoned with. It looked like he had swallowed an orange and it continued to rest behind his canines for the past week. It was gross.

"What might be harder?" Lucas asked, readjusting his backpack.

"Uh, nothing. What's up?" Nathan asked, noticing Lucas' gazed over expression.

"I know I shouldn't be bothered by it, but Brooke's ignoring me."

"Yeah, I know," Nathan said. He thought it would be best if he kept his short conversation with Brooke under wraps.

Lucas shook his head, "I don't know what to do. We just met, but I feel pretty bad about this."

"Maybe you shouldn't do anything. Just give her some time. I don't think she was ready to see you like that."

"Yeah, maybe," Lucas said quietly.

"I bet she can't stand to see your ugly ass face right now, that's the reason she's ignoring you," Nathan joked.

"Ha ha," he answered dryly, not even bothering to steal a punch or shove.

Nathan sighed, "If it's any consolation, Haley's mad at me, too."

"Haley?" Lucas asked, somewhat confused. The bell rang for English period, which both boys entered hastily, slipping into their seats just in time.

"Yeah. You know how she is about this whole thing."

"Oh, right," he answered. "But it's Haley, she won't be mad for much longer. Plus, you're her friend."

"Yeah," Nathan said. "Friend."

* * *

"So what are the chances that we actually nail this fucking routine!?" Rachel exclaimed to the squad. They all stood there with their hands on their hips, examining their split ends or drifting off into lala land. It was safe to say that no one cared this afternoon. Brooke was mad at Lucas, Haley was mad at Nathan, Lucas, Jake, and Owen, and Peyton was pissed off at the whole world. And Rachel? She was just trying to get through one freaking practice without having to stop every five minutes.

"Ms. Gatina! Language!" Whitey yelled from across the other end of the gym.

"Sorry!" Rachel piped. "Okay, now I know you're all tired or are going through your own little soap operas. But frankly, I don't give a shit." She was sweating, she was tired, and she acutally had to do her homework this time tonight. On top of that, Owen was talking about an actual relationship Friday night, causing Rachel to fall back on the whole FWB thing. What with all the girls staring at her like she was speaking Vietnamese, there was no way they were going to be able to get through this without Rachel punching them in the face.

"Haley don't get started with me on this," Rachel brushed, putting the CD back into the case and unplugging the cord from the socket.

"Start with what? I'm sorry I haven't been up to it today. Is that what you want to hear?" Haley asked.

"No, what I want to hear is that you're going to do better tomorrow. The cheer classic is coming up Haley and I need everyone to be on point. And that includes you too," Rachel said, pointing to Brooke, who had tittered up with her gym bag already on her shoulder.

"What did I do?" she asked innocently.

Rachel sighed, "Look, I know that you guys are still freaked out by what happened on Friday. It was gross and scary. I get it. But, you shouldn't let that get to you. And I'm not just talking about during practice. I'm talking about in all areas of your guys' life at the moment. Get over it, or I swear to god..." she trailed.

Haley stared at her, "Okay, I get what you're saying. I shouldn't even be letting this spill out into practice. But something tells me that this goes way beyond me and Brooke."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Haley? I tell you that you need to get a grip on your whole drama fest and you're gonna tell me that I have a problem?"

"Actually," Brooke began. "I think that's exactly what she's saying. There's got to be something on your mind."

Rachel scoffed, "This is just great. I try to be nice for once, and here you guys go, going all Dr. Phil on me."

"Whatever Rachel, you're still meeting us at Brooke's house."

"Brooke's house? Why would I go there? I have a paper that I have to write up, by myself no less," Rachel explained.

Haley sighed, "Okay, what if me and Brooke wrote your paper for you--"

"Hey!" Brooke protested.

"And," Haley emphasized, "you come over and we just hang out and talk about this whole thing."

"There is no whole thing to talk about Haley," Rachel insisted as they passed the players, who still had another half hour until practice was over. She was so immersed in the whole argument that she didn't even bother to say bye to Owen, who was staring at her intently from across the gym. At least, that's what she was going to say when questioned.

"I think there is. And if there isn't, then you can spend the rest of the afternoon bitching to me and Brooke about how we need to get over this whole fighting crap," Haley said.

Rachel unlocked her car and threw her back into the backseat, "If it gets you off my ass, I'll go."

Brooke grinned, "Great. We'll see you in a few minutes."

"Whatever," Rachel mumbled, pulling out of the school parking lot. What the hell did she look like? A charity case? Because she didn't need someone to tell her what to do with her life. That was for her to do, and it seemed like Haley and Brooke needed it. But first thing's first, head home to change out of the sexy but now gross work out gear. She looked through her rear view mirrior and saw Brooke and Haley following her in Brooke's powder blue bug. It seemed like the girls were just as determined as Rachel was.

In the passenger seat she heard her cell phone vibrate, and she knew it was Owen calling her. Practice still had to be going on, though. Owen wasn't the person she wanted to be talking to right now, but she might as well hear what he had to say. Sighing, Rachel reached for her phone and held it to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Rachel?"

"That's me. What did you want?"

"Rach, come on. Don't be like that."

"Don't be like what, Owen? I'm sorry if I'm a little bit freaked out by this."

"That's fine, I feel the same way. But you can't ignore me because sooner or later we're going to have to talk about this."

"Well I choose later. I know you're still at basketball practice so I'm going to hang up now."

"Rachel, please."

"Owen, just give me some space," Rachel said finally.

"Okay, just, come talk to me when you're ready."

Rachel hung up, throwing her Blackberry back on the passenger seat. Great, that was exactly what she needed, Owen calling her and convincing her that they could make this work, when in reality, it was anything but possible. She thought Owen knew this too, but maybe she didn't make it clear enough.

All her life, she was told that she would not be able to amount to anything, and a relationship was one of them. When she was entering her teenage years, she sprung her daddy for plastic surgery, something that made her one of the most desirable girls growing up, and she was just fine with that. And even then, a relationship was something that she didn't want, even with her new body and new life. Rachel was all up for friends with benefits, but any committment was crossing the line, and she thought Owen knew that, until now.

Just the thought of actually being in a relationship, having someone to call 'boyfriend' and being called a 'girlfriend' made her want to run to the nearest toilet and puke all her organs out. Rachel couldn't pin point exactly why she was so scared of relationships, but she had grown up not wanting anything to do with them. And from what she saw, it was best that she stay as far away from the likes of it as possible. And don't even get her started on the words of love.

It was safe to say her parents were train wrecks waiting to happen. Or maybe they already were. Her mother was a high society wife and her father was always away on business, so it was kind of easy to not want to get involved. Her dad cheated on her mom with basically every personal assitant and/or secretary he ever had, and her mother, well, she wasn't exactly little Mrs. Innocent Wife either. They both had their own affairs, only to show up arm in arm to the latest dinner or convention.

A relationship was not on the agenda, and neither was love. But Rachel could not figure out for the life of her why Owen was now talking about actually being a couple. Normal people wouldn't think this was such a big deal, but Rachel Gatina was anything but normal.

She quickly changed into shorts and a shirt. Afterall, she was just going next door. She wondered if she should take her cell phone, before deciding not to, not even bothering to lock the door behind her. It's not like anyone would break into her house and actually be able to get away with it.

Rachel didn't even bother knocking before entering the big pristine house. Brooke's house wasn't any different from hers, mainly because they were in the same neighborhood. Brooke's front door was red, Rachel's was green, that was probably the only difference. Even though Brooke had been in Tree Hill for a month, there was still emptiness going on around the house. It didn't really surprise her, Brooke's parents were just like Rachel's.

Busting her bedroom door open, Brooke and Haley glanced up at her. Brooke was reading a Seventeen magazine and Haley was looking at a book, no doubt for homework or something. The television was on and TRL on MTV was playing dimly throughout the room.

"Don't you knock?" Brooke asked jokingly, kinking her eyebrow.

Rachel shrugged, "Some do, I don't."

"And some people do relationships, you don't?" Haley asked innocently.

"Who told you about that?"

"I talked to Owen," Haley said. "I can't believe you didn't tell me on your own."

"Well it just happened this morning," Rachel mumbled.

"And obviously it's bothering you."

"No Haley, relationships bother me, which is exactly why I don't want one."

"Have you even tried being in a relationship?"

"No, and I don't plan on it. From what I've seen they all suck."

"Maybe you're just looking at the wrong ones," Brooke said.

"That might be true, but I don't want to stick around to find out."

"So you're just going to ditch Owen like that? He cares about you, Rach. What's so wrong about that?"

Rachel sighed, "It's not that I don't want that. Owen's asking for more than what I can give him."

"You can't, or you won't. You guys have been doing this whole thing since freshman year, I'm pretty sure you're ready."

"And if I'm not?" Rachel shot. She knew perfectly well that Haley was making sense.

"Then if he really wants to be with you, he'll wait," Brooke said. "If it doesn't, then he wasn't worth it anyway."

Rachel collapsed on Brooke's bed, "The only problem is, I know he's worth it."

"But you're not sure if you're worth it," Haley stated.

"Eh, I'll figure it out sooner or later. I always do. Now, what's with this whole you two acting like bitches more than usual?" Rachel said, desperately wanting to change the subject. She had already said too much, and now it was all out for Brooke and Haley to judge and analyze. So much for a good day.

"Why are you calling us bitches without including yourself?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Because I know I am. Big difference."

"We're just having a little problem getting over Friday night. That's all," Brooke explained.

"You guys wouldn't be so appalled if you didn't like them," Rachel said simply. "Now I already know that Brooke has the hots for Lucas, but I've still been waiting for Haley to admit it."

Haley scoffed, "What is there for me to admit?"

"That you're crushing on the other Scott," Rachel smirked. She knew it from the minute she befriended Haley and had met the Scott brothers. Haley had a thing for Nathan, it was all out there for everyone to see. Everyone knew that there was something going on between them, but Nathan and Haley. It was completely ludicrous, since Haley was wicked smart and had a strong wit. Rachel had managed to point out the one thing that Haley was completely challenged at.

"I'm crushing on the other Scott?" Haley recited, seeing no sense in the statement that the redhead had just made.

"Yep," Rachel began. "You are crushing on Nathan Lee Scott, and don't even deny it."

Haley chuckled, "That's so not true, Rachel. Me and Nathan, we're just friends. We always have been."

"Until now. You're starting to actually like him, and that's why you're so upset with him for beating the shit out of Felix and his friends."

"Okay," Haley began, "Let's say I did like Nathan. Now why would I be mad at him for fighting on Friday?"

Rachel shrugged, "It could be for numerous reasons, like you were scared he was going to get hurt, or--"

"You didn't like seeing that side of him, the side that made you and everyone else look at him like he was a monster," Brooke interrupted.

"Something like that."

* * *

As he sat there on the bench, watching his brother push 225, Nathan tried to think of a way to make things right. It seemed clear that both Scott brothers had girls mad at them, and they had to come up with some way of getting Haley and Brooke to forgive them. Even though he didn't say it, Nathan knew that Lucas liked Brooke way more than he should in the short amount of time they had known each other. And with Haley, she was just one of those peope that you didn't want to disappoint, and with her being mad at him made Nathan feel like shit. But both girls were stubborn, and fighting was always a touchy subject.

"Maybe we should write them letters or something," Nathan suggested, curling a 35 pound dumbell with his right arm.

"Letters?" Lucas grunted. "Don't kid yourself, Nate. That might work for Haley, but Brooke seems a little more extreme."

"How extreme are you talking?"

"I don't know," he said, resting the bar and sitting up. "Something that might potentially make me look like a loser."

"Well, if you want her to forgive you that bad," Nathan smirked.

"Do you really think we should be apologizing in the first place? I mean, they knew what our jobs were, and they continued to let us have friendships with them. Can they really get mad at us for that? It's even more apparent with Haley because we've known her since we were little kids."

Nathan sighed, knowing that his brother had a point. Did Brooke and Haley even really have a right to be angry with the Scott brothers, along with Jake and Owen? It didn't seem like it, but then on the other side, it looked like they did.

"Look, it might seem completely weird and confusing about how we're apologizing to them, but let's face it Luke, they're chicks. And in all actuality, we shouldn't be having to do anything, but it's the fact that they're not going to do anything, so we might as well. Plus, it kind of sucks having Haley mad at me, and I know how much you like Brooke."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I never thought I would be trying to get her to forgive me. I mean, I just met her," Lucas said, remembering their first meeting only a mere few weeks ago.

"Maybe that means you got something there," Nathan said, wiping his face with a towel. "Anyway, Cooper sent me a text during lunch today. We still have like two weeks left and he's already updating us on our next fights."

"Let me guess, I'm fighting Felix again," Lucas said sarcastically. Things had been pretty mellow ever since his fight with Felix at Rachel's. He had yet to see Felix ever since, and Lucas was thankful for that, because the punk probably would've been dead by now.

"Actually no," Nathan answered. "It's that Japanese kid you fought a couple of weeks ago. Apparently he's healed up from last time and wants another whack at you."

"Han-Dok," Lucas recalled, his stomach feeling a little bit weird. There was no lie about it, the guy could seriously pack a punch. And Lucas wasn't going to lie about the fact that he was a good fighter either, but now that he had somehow become involved in a chain of conflict, would he be able to walk away with the sack of money again?

"Yeah, and no offense, but the guy was really good. I mean, he almost had you in three different parts of that fight. So to save yourself, don't worry about Brooke right now."

"Wait, weren't we just talking about how to get Brooke and Haley to forgive us? And now you're telling me to just shake it off and focuse on winning my match that's two weeks from now?" Lucas asked, clearly confused. Even though they were brothers, Nathan was always the confusing one, and this situation was no exception.

Nathan shrugged, "Well, yeah, I did say that. But now that I think about it, you seriously can't expect to win when you're worrying about things, right?"

"Yeah..." Lucas trailed.

"Okay, and if you don't win your match, we don't get money, and if we don't get money, then we're basically screwed on all the bills for the rest of the month. And I get that you like Brooke and all, but our jobs come first in this situation. So, there's my explanation," Nathan finished.

"If that was the case, then why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Nathan smirked, "I just realized it now."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Okay. So if I'm fighting Han-Dok, then who are you fighting?"

His brother shrugged, "Felix."

* * *

Aside from the fact that he needed this job to help his parents and for his college, Jake never really was a fighter. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he liked music, and thought that music was the cure for just about everything that was going wrong in your life. Call him a modern hippie, but Jake didn't like his job. It was only the instances where his father was getting in late after working triple shifts for the sixth week in a row that Jake KNEW that he was doing a good thing.

If you called beating the shit out of guys for money a good thing. But he wouldn't be the only one to think that. Nathan and Lucas were working out at the gym, no doubt thinking of ways to redeem themselves, and Owen was moping around about his little fight with Rachel. That was something that you didn't see everyday. So that left Jake to wonder aimlessly through down, guitar on his back. He really didn't go anywhere without it.

The door jingled as Jake entered Karen's Cafe, which was now being ran by Deb Lee for the time being, but at this rate it seemed like Deb might be taking over permanently. Karen had been gone for quite awhile, and her name and history was slowly disipating with every passing day she spent traveling, trying to ease the pain of her husband's death.

To his surprise, he saw Peyton sitting in a booth in the back corner, white headphones in her ears, and her eyes staring determined at the sketchbook that was laid out on the table. Even though they basically ran with the same crowd, Jake never really talked to Peyton except for the occasional nod and 'what's up.' They both spent their time at Lucas and Nathan's house and at other places, but never had they engaged in conversation. It wasn't that he didn't want to, he personally didnt have anything against her, but Lucas was his friend, and Peyton was kind of in his way.

Surprisingly, Jake found himself walking towards the back of the Cafe, standing in front of Peyton's booth. She glanced at him briefly before pausing her iPod.

"Hey," he nodded, readjusting the strap to his guitar

"Can I help you with something?" she asked bluntly, her monotonous tone clearly letting Jake know that she didn't appreciate his up in conversation.

"Are you always this despressed and angry?" he smiled, tilting his head to the side, examining her.

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Are you always this nosey and annoying?"

He shrugged, "On most days. But I doubt you have anything to be pissed off about, other than the fact that Lucas still won't get back together with you." Cheap shot.

"And how the fuck is that any of your business?" she shot back. Peyton knew full well that it was going to take a lot to get Lucas back again, but she didn't need people like Jake, who didn't know anything about her at all, to tell her that. And as far as she knew, Jake was nothing but a music bum that fought for kicks.

"It's not, but we both know that I'm right. Look, I'm not trying to get into a fight with you, Peyton. I just wanted to say hi."

"Well you have a weird way of showing it," Peyton said, gathering up her stuff and was brushing past him before he had time to think. As Jake watched her leave, he couldn't help but think that Peyton would have been a really cool person, if it had not been for Lucas and his life issues.

"That's a good life wasted," Jake mumbled under his breath, turning around, sitting at the counter, placing his guitar on the stool next to him.

"Tell me about it," Haley said from behind the counter, wiping them down. "That's Peyton on a good day."

"I wouldn't know. This is first time I ever really talked to her."

Haley smirked, "You would've been better off by not talking to her at all."

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Plus, I'm hungry, and I tend to act like an asshole."

"I'd hardly call you an asshole. But anyways, what's your order Jagielski?" Haley asked, equipped with a notepad and pen.

Jake shut the menu, "I'll just have a double bacon cheeseburger with fries and a Coke to go."

"You're not staying to piss off the next person you see?" she asked innocently.

He shook his head, "Nah, one's enough for today. I also got to head over to Lucas and Nathan's."

"What's the occasion? You guys going over fighting tactics or something? That's what you guys do in your spare time right? Find out different ways to hurt people the most?"

"You're going to have to forgive us sometime Haley!" Jake called out to her.

Haley waved her hand, "Yeah, yeah," she said as she disappeared behind the shutter doors. It only took him two minutes of waiting to know that he was going to be here for a little bit. He pulled out his guitar, only taking a couple of seconds to tune it. Jake began to play a little melody that he had written himself, knowing that playing his guitar would make the time pass by, and sustain his stomach, because he wasn't kidding when he said he was hungry.

The bell jingled faintly above the strumming of the guitar, but Jake didn't pay any attention by it. Playing his guitar seemed to do that to him. A bomb could've gone off over his house and Jake probably wouldn't have been paying attention at all, let alone hear the explosion. It was only when the customer sat herself right next to him that he actually noticed her. But it wasn't hard not to notice her. He continued to play, his fingers moving without Jake even thinking. He ended on a soft note and heard a faint clap next to him.

"You're really good. Who knew you were better at anything else other than punching people's lights out?" Jake turned to Brooke, not exactly surprised to hear the words coming out of her mouth or the tone in her voice. He knew all about Brooke being pissed off at Lucas and just about all of them for what had happened at Rachel's house. Apart of him couldn't blame her, but Jake was sure that Brooke obviously didn't understand when people said they fought. No one ever really did until they saw it with their own eyes.

"Hey Brooke," Jake greeted. "I see you're still bitter about the little fiasco that happened last Friday."

"Bitter? I don't do bitter. It's not my style?"

"Then what is your style? Snobby? Bitchy?"

Brooke smirked, "Snobby, absolutely not. But bitchy's a whole other story."

"Maybe. So I'm guessing you're here to see Haley? You're going to have to get in line. She's running a little SLOW ON MY FOOD," he said, making sure Haley heard him from the back. "But I guess that's my punishment because of my job occupation, huh?"

"It seems like it," she said, playing with the salt and pepper shakers. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Jake shrugged and continued to play again, only softly, so that he could hear her, "Go ahead."

"Why do you do what you do?"

"You mean why does Lucas do what he does?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm not talking about Lucas. I already know his supposed explanation. But I want to know yours. So, why do you do it?"

Jake set his guitar down on his lap, "I don't know, there's a lot of reasons. Like the fact that my parents don't have enough money to pay for me to go to college, and this is the fastest way to get cash. It might be dangerous, but it's a risk I'm willing to take to get where I want to be. Not exactly the answer that you were expecting, huh?"

"Not exactly. I actually expected you to say that it was to prove you were all macho and strong."

"Brooke, despite what you may think, we don't do this for kicks. We don't do it to look cool or to make people scared of us. Each and every one of us has reasons for doing what we do, and I'm pretty sure Lucas was telling the truth when he told you his," Jake explained.

"Lucas told me that him and Nathan fought so they could pay for the extra bills and live a comfortable life. That doesn't sound so sacrificial to me, does it?"

"Then there's a lot that you don't know about Lucas and Nathan, and there's a lot that he's not telling you. It goes deeper than that." Just then Haley emerged from the back holding a brown paper bag and a to go cup filled with soda. Jake looked at Haley in relief, glad that he finally got his food and ended his discussion with the curious brunette. Brooke, on the other hand, was slightly annoyed that Haley had picked this time to emerge from the back. She had only been in town for a couple of weeks, and she still had a lot of investigating to do.

"Here you go Jake. I tried to stall as long as I could, but then I realized you haven't paid me yet," she explained, setting the bag on the counter.

Jake took out his wallet and set down a twenty dollar bill, "Here, keep the change. That's real mature, Haley. You're going to have to let up sometime, you might as well do it now."

Haley rolled her eyes, "Not at this second, Jagielski. I'll see you around."

"Will do," he said, grabbing his guitar as well. "Oh, and Brooke, you might want to get to know Lucas first. There's a lot you don't know about him, it wouldn't hurt to find out and then judge him." Jake had no doubt in his mind; they had all met their match in Brooke Davis. This girl did not let up easily, and she had more curiousity stored inside of her than a nine year old. Brooke was definitely going to shake up this town, and the life of his friend.

"Wow, do I even want to know what you guys were talking about?" Haley asked, leaning over the counter. Brooke shrugged. Her talk with Jake was something that she was just itching to ask. She already knew the reason Lucas and Nathan did it, all their answers couldn't have been the same. But in some way, they were. Brooke hadn't been here long, and she was already sticking her nose into places where they didn't belong, but she would never be able to get the answers she was looking for, and what Brooke Davis wants, she gets.

Brooke shrugged, "Nothing new. I decided I was going to ask him why he fought."

"And what did you gather?" she asked. Haley knew all too well why all the boys did what they did. She had known for a long time. But it had taken her some time to realize that she couldn't give out all the answers, and in this case Brooke had to find it out all on her own. The only problem was, Haley was never good at keeping a secret.

"Jake wants to go to college and he can't afford it. I can't really find anything wrong with that."

"And how is Lucas any different? He has goals and things that he wants to do other than fight."

"Yeah, I know. But Lucas seems to fight more for luxury than just because he has to for money. I mean, sure, they're a little low on cash, but his mother left them enough to pay the bills. Him and Nathan are the ones spending it on useless pleasures. I know I really shouldn't be talking like this, but I think I know enough to."

"You're right. You haven't really been here long and you already know a lot. If you were any other person I would've dropped you on your ass right now for saying that. But yeah, it does seem that Nathan and Lucas are a bit selfish on the whole money situation. But it's all about money with those boys. They don't do it just to prove that they're the best."

"That's what Jake said. They all need money somehow, but why fight? I know they can get money faster, but why submit themselves to excruciating pain?"

Haley shrugged, "I couldn't tell you. I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Brooke, I'm not trying to convince you to not get to know Lucas. He's a really good guy..."

"But," Brooke instisted.

She sighed, "But him and Nathan have been through a lot in such a short amount of time. Just like everybody else, they have a past, and they have skeletons in their closet that still haunt them to this very day. They're angry, and they're grieving the death of their dad."

"Yeah, but why fight?"

"That's the thing, I don't think it's people they're fighting."

* * *

Ten percent of the time she spent at Karen's Cafe. Twenty percent of the time was spent at her own house. Thirty percent of the time was spent at school. And the other forty perfect, was spent at Lucas and Nathan's house. That wouldn't surprise most people. The only surprising thing was that it was only forty percent.

After her little run in with Jake, Peyton had resorted to hanging out at Nathan and Lucas' until they got home. Although she wouldn't call it a run in. Peyton hadn't spoken more than a sentence to Jake in years, and now here he was, trying to get in her business and piss her off. Today was just not her day. Neither was the past hundreds of days she had.

She settled herself in the boys' room, setting her bag down and collapsing on Lucas' bed. His sheets smelled like him, and Peyton knew that this was the closest she was going to get to Lucas in awhile. He said he wanted nothing to do with her right now, but only because he was forgetting what they had once meant to each other.

A lot had happened between the two blondes. There was a time when things were great, that everything was in it's right place, and nothing could go wrong. But like most things in Peyton's life, things did go wrong. Lucas and Nathan had lost their father, and they were absoltuely devastated. Peyton knew all about loss and grief, she had been through it twice already. But she was the strong one in the situation, so she tried to help the boys and Karen as much as she could. And for awhile it worked out pretty well, as well as can be expected at least. And just when she thought that they were all getting on the right track, Karen left, and the Scott brothers were introduced to street fighting.

Peyton couldn't say she was pleased to find this out. No girl in her right mind would want to see her boyfriend get the crap beat out of him for a couple of hundred dollars. But they had reached a point in their relatoinship where she thought that she was losing Lucas, so she stuck it out. For him, and for herself.

Pretty soon, the boy that she fell in love with changed. He was no longer the sensitive one, always talking about books and music and life. Instead, he was replaced with someone that was angry all the time, was rude, and acted like he didn't give a shit. She didn't blame him though, he was going through a tough time. Peyton thought it was just a faze, but she had thought that two years ago. Then Lucas broke up with her, saying that things weren't the same anymore, that they have changed, and that he would always love her, but they just couldn't be together anymore.

There was no doubt that she looked pathetic and hopeless. After all, she was still hanging around Lucas after they had broken up. But it went a lot deep than what anyone would be able to understand. Only Peyton would know. She knew that Lucas and Nathan were grieving for their father in a very unhealthy way. Fighting to get rid of the pain, or to worsen it, was what they had established for themselves. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, Lucas needed Peyton there.

It was something that no one would be able to understand, including Lucas. And every once in awhile Peyton would see the guy that she had first fallen in love with. The kind and caring guy that she had once knew. It wouldn't happen often, but every once in awhile she would see it in his eyes, and it was then she woud have hope again, and would continue to have hope. But this Brooke Davis girl was seriously getting in her way of that.

She couldn't deny it, Brooke was gorgeous. She was the epitome of the ultimate Queen Bee. Peyton wasn't stupid, and after all, Lucas was still a guy. They had talked and had hung out once, much to Peyton's chagrin. But when it came down to it, she knew that Brooke could never fully accept Lucas for the way that he is. Hell, she couldn't even get past his job occupation. Lucas was a complex person, and Brooke would never be able to handle or to understand Lucas, that was a fact.

It occurred to her that Lucas wouldn't be too happy to see her, mostly since he was nursing a bruised ego. But in all actuality, that was the perfect time. The door swung open revealing the two tired and sweaty boys. Nathan rolled his eyes at the sight of her, and Lucas sighed, throwing his bag on his bed, nearly missing her foot.

"I'm going to go make something to eat. You guys want anything?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I'll have a sandwich or something," Lucas answered, looking through his phone. Nathan turned to Peyton.

She shook her head, "No thanks, Nate." He nodded before disappearing from the room, happy that he wouldn't be there to wtiness Peyton's pathetic attempts to try to get Lucas back.

"What exactly is it that you want Peyton?" Lucas asked, kicking his shoes off. This had been routine for them and he stopped actually being surprised that she was there all the time.

"Just wanted to talk," she stated, playing with the thread of his comforter.

He chuckled, "You and I both know that's not why you came here. So, I'm going to do both of us a favor. No Peyton, I don't feel like fucking right now."

She smirked, "You've said that for almost a month now. And I know you're not getting it on with that Davis girl, seeing as she's not speaking to you."

"And how is that any of your fucking business? I'm serious this time, Peyton. I don't want to do this thing anymore. It's not working. It never was."

"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe this is working? You're just too afraid to believe it," Peyton explained.

"That's not it," Lucas answered. "We've been over for a long time. And I know that you were trying to help me in the beginning, and I'm thankful for that. But this, this isn't helping me. It's helping you by giving you hope that somehow we're going to get back together. But I've moved on, and I really wish you would do the same."

"It's because of that Davis girl, isn't it? What, Luke? You hang out with her for one night and you already think that you guys are going to actually be together?"

He sighed, "That's not even it, Peyton. This isn't even about Brooke and my friendship with her."

"But it is," Peyton said. "Ever since that girl came to town, you've been drooling over her and making puppy eyes are her. You're hoping that she's going to fall for your little sap story about how you fight for money. But it didn't work, did it? She saw the monster that's inside of you, and now she's run for the hills. You know she took me home the night of the party."

"Peyton, what the hell did you do?" Lucas groaned, already having a feeling that Peyton and Brooke in the same car wasn't good.

"Brooke tried telling me that you and her were just friends, and nothing more. But we both know that there's a lot more to it than that. I didn't do anything, I didn't have to. You did it all on your own by showing that dark side of you that night. You basically fucking chased her away," Peyton explained, gathering her stuff.

"Well it became more apparent to her since you had to open up your big fucking mouth," Lucas snapped. "Do you find this funny that you're messing with a really good friendship that I could've had with Brooke? Is that what you want? For me to have absolutely no one but you?"

"No one other than your brother will be able to understand you the way I do. You think about that."

As he thrust a hand through his sandy blonde hair, Lucas knew that he had to get Peyton out of his life sooner or later. She wasn't going to let it go, even now when he tried to explain to her nicely that nothing else was going to happen between them.

Nathan entered the room with two plates, handing Lucas a sandwich. "Something told me that didn't go very well."

"Does it ever go well with Peyton?" Lucas asked rhetorically, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "I seriously tried explaining to her this time that nothing was going to happen again. But she still wouldn't take in what I was saying. I don't know how else to do it."

"It looks like you're going to have to physically remove her from your life, and ours," Nathan answered.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I wouldn't worry about that now. You got a big match coming up."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, we're dealing with our problems after the match," he answered sarcastically.

"Yeah I just remembered," Nathan said. Lucas stared at him incredulously.

"Now I see why you're failing Pre Calculus."


	7. There's Still Time

**Author's Note: **I know that I'm long past due, and I apologize for that. Actually, I had this chapter done a long time ago, but I got a little busy, along with lazy lol, and before I knew it school was starting back up again, which caused me to be busy as heck. It's a lazy weekend, where my schedule is free for once, so I thought it was about time for an update. Thank you for all the reviews, and everybody that has been waiting forever for an update. I hope I don't disappoint you guys with this chapter, even though I really don't remember that much about writing it. It's shorter than most of the chapters, but it's to the point as to the purpose of actually writing it. Mainly focuses on Brooke and Jake, but not in the way that it seems lol.

I know that there's a lot of loose ends that I need to make clear, so I plan on making the next chapter super long, but I'm not sure when it's going to be updated, due to school, homework, and having a life lol. Junior year is supposed to be the hardest lol. So after I post this chapter up, I'm going to start working on the next chapter. To be perfectly honest, I absolutely HATED the premiere of One Tree Hill, and I hated the second episode as well. It was completely retarded of Lucas to choose Peyton, what a dumbass. As much as I love Brooke, she about scared the crap out of me after she got beat up. No doubt it was Victoria that sent someone to steal her designs, and I hope Brooke kills her or something lol. Jamie's still cute as always. It's a bummer about Que, though. He was a certified baller, no doubt about it. Nathan, still HOT ! Dr. Ethan needs to come back and heal Brooke or something lol. Anyways, I'm rambling. Enjoy &Review !

* * *

Chapter Seven; There's Still Time.

"So basically you told her that you wanted a relationship, and she freaked the fuck out?" Jake asked Owen as they drove to school.

This was what they had been doing ever since they both got cars and licenses. It made perfect sense since they lived a street away from the other. Plus, Jake and Owen were always closer with each other than Nathan and Lucas. Maybe it was a twin thing that seperated the two of them from the Scott brothers, but it was just easier. They didn't like each other any less, but Jake and Owen kept together on most days, and this was one of those days, especially with Owen's love problems.

Owen sighed, "Basically. I mean, she didn't even give me a chance to explain myself."

For being such a big guy, it was hard for some people to believe that Owen could actually be a decent person. Although on most days, he resorted to punching people's lights out, there was a lot more to him than most people thought. He was raised in a destructive home with no father and where his mother was too cracked out to even remember she had a son. It passed right on to Owen, who began to snort coccaine and meth until two years ago.

It was quite random for someone like Owen to be a druggie one day and an athlete the next. But that's what happened. Owen made friends with Jake and the Scott brothers, and knew that he had to get his act together if he wanted to amount to anything. These days Owen lived with his aunt and uncle, while his mother had been arrested for posession of illegal drugs. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, and it had only been two years. Now he was on the basketball team, the honor roll, and was fighting on the side.

Someone like Owen had a lot of skeletons in his closet. There were things that haunted him, along with the other boys, which made their lives all the more interesting to the whole town. They didn't know everything, therefore they wanted to know more. That's basically where Rachel came in. She wanted to know more and she kept on pushing. So, they became close, it was all basically a fling. At least that's what they told everyone else, including themselves.

And now, when Owen was actually starting to feel something, and actually act on it, Rachel turned away from him. It was ironic, the only time he ever went after someone that he cared for, and she refused to be emotionally available. Owen knew all about her parents, and how they're marriage was a lie, only existing to keep up appearances, and how Rachel didn't want to ever have a relationship like that let alone a marriage that cloned it. He completely understood where she was coming from, but that didn't mean that he was going to just forget that he never cared for her.

Owen Revels hardly cared about anything in life, and if he was caring now, people might as well remember this moment.

"You know, I've heard all about guys not wanting committment at all, but this is a completely different situation," Jake chuckled.

"Jake, shut the fuck up. Rachel and her committment issues are really starting to piss me off. I mean, we've known each other long enough to trust each other. This shouldn't even be a freaking problem," Owen said frustratingly as Jake pulled into the campus.

"Yeah, and you guys have been fooling around the same time you guys have known each other. Owen, just relax and talk to her later on today," Jake said, shutting the car door behind him. "Now let's talk about something else."

Owen rolled his eyes, "What are we going to talk about? Peyton?" The brooding blonde girl was seated on the hood of her Comet, once again her sketchbook on her lap. It seemed that she wore the same expression everytime she was drawing. Determined, entranced in her art.

Jake wasn't going to lie, Peyton was pretty good at drawing. She had drawn various sketches for Lucas over the years, and Jake would always stare at them in Lucas' room, wondering how she could work all the detail and depict a message without saying anything at all. That's what art was really about. He was quite fond of them. But he would never tell her that.

"Speaking of, I actually talked to her the other day," Jake mentioned.

"Really? That must have been some conversation."

"Yeah, it was great. She basically told me she hated me and to fuck off," he smirked.

"Can't go wrong with that," Owen said as they entered the halls. "Have you studied for that Pre Calculus quiz today?"

Jake shrugged, "As much as I can possibly comprehend, which isn't that much."

"Same here. And if we can't get it, then what the hell is Nathan going to do?"

"Haley's tutoring him, maybe he's improved..." Jake trailed, before him and Owen began laughing.

"Nathan's smart, I'll say that much, but math is just not his forte."

"Yeah, plus Haley's still pissed at him about Rachel's party, so I doubt they've had a recent tutor session."

"Please you know Haley's going to crack any day now. She may have a right to be mad at him, but she can't stay pissed at him for long. It's impossible."

"I agree, when has she ever stayed mad for long? She's just too nice for that."

"Have you ever found out what's going on with Brooke and Lucas?"

Jake shook his head, "I don't know. But Brooke seems pretty keen on not getting involved with him anymore."

"Well she wouldn't be the only one."

"She won't be the last one either." Just then Brooke approached the two boys. She looked ever more determined.

"Hey Jake, Owen," she greeted.

"Hey," Owen said. "I got to go find Rachel and straighten this, thing out."

"She's already in the Library finding someone to finish her English homework," Brooke told him. He mumbled a quick 'thanks' before disappearing among the throngs of people.

"So," Jake began, "I knew that wasn't the last of you."

"You're right."

"What is it this time?"

She shrugged, "You know how you said that Lucas and Nathan's reasons for fighting went a lot deeper than what he told me?"

"Yeah..." he trailed.

"I want you to tell me the deeper part."

Jake shook his head, "Brooke I can't do that. Lucas and Nathan are my best friends, I'm not going to tell you their whole history just because you want to know."

"It's not just because I want to know," she said, walking next to him through the halls. "Look, I think Lucas's reasons were stupid, and I want to know what all happened for me to be able to know if I want to give it a shot."

Talk about a dilema. If Lucas ever found out that Jake was telling Brooke all about him and his dark kept secrets, there might be no forgive and forget. Although most of the people around town knew about their dark past, it was a matter of who was going to tell, because no one was going to. They were too scared of Lucas and Nathan, and their peers would look upon them in disgust, even bothering to mention the sordid details that was the life of the Scott brothers.

But on the other hand, Jake might as well be doing Lucas was favor. By telling Brooke exactly what the blonde was all about, that would give Brooke the ability to decide if she wanted to try out an actual relationship, something that his friend hadn't experienced since Peyton. Jake knew that Lucas liked Brooke, way more than he should at this stage of them knowing each other, but maybe she would understand. Brooke wasn't stupid, and her intentions seeemed right.

"Why are you asking me anyhow? Haley knows just about as much as I do, why don't you ask her? Plus, you guys seem a lot more chummy."

"Haley's my friend, but I know she would never tell me the whole story. She's kept a lot from me already, things that I've had to find out for myself."

"Maybe this is something else that you need to find out for yourself," Jake said.

Brooke smirked, "But it's not. I know it's not. Jake, you know better than anybody that I'm not going to mysteriously figure out what I want to know. People seem very discreet about the information that I'm looking for."

"And for good reason. If Lucas didn't tell you already, then he probably doesn't want you to know."

"Jake, please. I promise I won't tell Lucas it was you."

"I don't know..."

"Listen, I come from California, so I know all about guys. I used to date guys like Felix on a daily basis, it's nothing new to me. But Lucas is. I know I only met him a couple of weeks ago, but I was really starting to like him until Rachel's party. And if there's things that's happened to him that is why the way he is, and why he fights, then I think I should know about it. Believe me I wouldn't be asking if this wasn't important."

Jake sighed, "Okay, alright fine, I'll tell you. But not now, this is going to take awhile to explain."

"What about the cafe after school?" Brooke suggested.

"No way. Haley works there, and she'd be even more mad if she knew I was telling you."

"Well everyone is around when school's over."

"Fine, meet me in the Library during lunch. That should be enough time, and no one will see us."

"Why are you so keen that no one see us together?" Brooke asked.

Jake chuckled, "Brooke, if someone sees me and you talking alone together, they'll sure as hell go run to Lucas, or it'll get to him somehow. And Lucas is one of my best friends, but he's not going to be so understanding if you know what I mean."

* * *

"What do you think they're talking about?" Lucas asked anxiously as he and Nathan stood at their lockers.

Nathan looked at Jake and Brooke, shrugging, "Probably planning their next meeting in the janitor's closet."

"Fuck you, dude," Lucas said, shutting his locker and walking the opposite way. Nathan sighed, shutting his locker and following after his brother.

"Luke, wait up! I was just kidding, man!"

"Yeah I know. I'm just a little uptight lately, especially with Brooke being mad at me and Felix trying to avoid me at all costs."

"Okay, I don't mean to burst your brooding bubble, but remember what we talked about?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Just let it slide until my match is over. Yeah, I know, Nate."

"Well you seem to be forgetting about that. I mean, just one glance at Brooke talking to another guy, and you turn into a desperate puppy."

"She was talking to Jake!" he exclaimed. "How am I supposed to react? Jake's one of my best friends, and he's talking to a girl that I really like."

"Yeah, talking," Nathan emphasized. "It's not like he was making out with her or something. They were just talking, Luke. Nothing less, nothing more. And if the fact that he was talking to Brooke make you so mad, then why don't you confront him and just ask him?"

Lucas shrugged, "I don't know. I will later. Let's talk about something else. Now, you have no idea how pissed off I am that you're fighting Felix."

"As opposed to who?"

"Me, of course. I want another chance to beat him to a bloody pulp."

"Don't you mean when Owen beat him to a bloody pulp? You were passed out with your face in the grass," Nathan smirked.

"If it wasn't for those fucking brass knuckles, things would've gone a lot differently."

"Lucas, don't worry about Felix. I'm just as pissed as you are at how he cheated that night. He's going to be get it twice as bad." It was obvious that Nathan and more built than Lucas, but it wasn't be genetics. Sure, they were the same height, but Nathan worked out twice as much as Lucas. When they're dad died, Nathan threw all his frustrations into fighting and working out. That was his cure. Lucas, on the other hand, got into fighting, along with some other things that didn't benefit his body at all.

"He better, or else I'm going to be pissed at you, too."

* * *

It was almost lunch and Haley had successfully been able to avoid talking to Nathan all day, even though she had the first three classes with him. The more she thought about it, Haley realized that maybe she shouldn't be as mad at she was. Maybe, for the first time in awhile, she was wrong. Maybe she had misunderstood the situation. Now what would she do? It wasn't exactly easy to admit to somebody that you were wrong. It had her feel even guiltier, and it was a little bruise to her ego.

She wondered when things were going to be peaceful, without chaotic uproars. It seemed like the past month of two had been nothing but complex conficts back to back. Instead of studying, she was thinking about when Brooke and Peyton were going to get into their first catfight. But Haley had been wondering that for a long time, and something told her that it was always going to be this way, only now she was really starting to realize it.

In the corner of her eye she spotted Peyton at her locker. She had her iPod headphones in her ears and looked in deep thought, like she always did. Things with Peyton concerning their friendship had been a little weird. It had been weird for awhile, but even more so when Brooke came to town.

"Hey Peyton," Haley greeted, loud enough so Peyton could hear her. The blonde glanced at her before slipping her headphones out of her ears.

"What do you need, Haley?" she asked, a straight-to-the-point attitude.

"Uhm, I just wanted to talk to you. You know, see how you're doing and all," she replied.

"Since when?"

Haley sighed, "Look Peyton, I know we haven't hung out and talked in awhile. Things have been hectic around here, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but that's not the reason. It's obvious that you and Rachel have ditched me for Brooke."

"Peyton, we haven't ditched you for anyone. Brooke's new here, we're just trying to be nice. And you've been so wrapped up in Lucas to even want to hang out with us."

"That's not true," she said, shaking her head. "Ever since Brooke's been here, you guys have been hanging out with her almost everyday. I've been busy and trying to get Lucas to see that our relationship isn't over with, I thought you understood that."

"You wanna call that a relatoinship?" a voice said from behind them. She had been watching the little exchange, hearing how her and Haley haven't been there for Peyton blah blah blah. But what really got her was the fact that Peyton still hasn't accepted that her and Lucas were dunzo.

"Rachel, it's not a big deal," Haley started. Once you got the redhead going, there was no turning back.

"No Haley, it is a big deal. I'm not just going to let Peyton think we ditched her when we didn't."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "You're definition might be a little different, but you did ditch me. For Brooke."

"Brooke's new Peyt, she needs friends. Plus, it's not like you should even care, you've been too busy following Lucas around like a fucking lost puppy. Face it Goldilocks, he's not into you anymore, so do him and everyone else a favor and just get over it. It's seriously getting unbearable to watch."

"Rachel, you have no idea what you're talking about. Me and Lucas aren't over, and I don't expect any of you to understand that."

"The fact of the matter is, we're sorry if you feel like we've abandoned you in any way," Haley began, Rachel rolling her eyes. "But you've been determined for awhile now to get Lucas back, and so far nothing has worked. So all the blame shouldn't be put on us."

Peyton shut her locker, "Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore. Brooke's obviously replaced me."

"Oh boo hoo. Why are you so threatened by Brooke anyway? She has your 'man?'" the redhead asked.

"I'm not threatened by Brooke. She's nothing but a distraction to Lucas. A booty call if you want to call it that."

"Okay now that's out of line," Haley intervened. "Brooke's been nothing but nice to you since she's been here. And you've been shooting her dirty looks and trying to drive her away from being friends with Luke. You can deny it all you want, but you are threatened by Brooke, because you know that she can finally be the one that rids Lucas of you."

It wasn't in her nature to be mean, and some people wouldn't even consider that something mean at all, but Haley felt a little twinge of guilt, which as something that had been consuming her for the past couple of days.

"Hmm, this is surprising. Who knew Haley James had a mean streak in her," Peyton said, more amused than offended.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "That's hardly a mean streak."

"Well compared to you, of course it isn't."

Rachel and Haley watched their sort-of-friend disappear through the halls. There wasn't really much else to say that hadn't been said before.

"Was I really mean?" Haley asked, obviously worried.

Rachel chuckled, slinging her arm over her, "Nah, you weren't, just truthful. Now if you would've added a 'bitch' or 'whore' into the mix, then you might have been dubbed mean."

"I just wish she could see that there's someone else out there for her."

"Let's just sit back, relax, and see Lucas finally kick her skinny ass to the curb. And if that doesn't work, then I'll do it," Rachel said.

"So what's with you all into Peyton and Lucas' unrequited love fest anyway?"

She shrugged, "I've always been involved, Hales. Remember on Brooke's first day I told Peyton to get the hell over it so Brooke could go after Lucas?"

"Of course, it was completely uncalled for and worried the crap out of Brooke."

"Well it all paid off, sort of. But the point is, I've always been in this situation."

Haley smirked, "If you say so. But the fact that you're butting in have anything to do with Owen?"

"How the hell does that have anything to do with Owen?"

"I don't know, maybe you're just trying to get involved in other people's lives so you don't have to deal with your own situation," Haley said innocently, but knowing that she was right.

Rachel chuckled, "I don't know what you're talking about Haley. Owen and I need a little bit of time to sort things out."

"So does that mean that you guys are finally going to be dating exclusively?"

She sighed, "I don't know yet. There's still a lot to think about. This is a relationship we're talking about."

"You're right, this is a relationship we're talking about, not a marriage."

"Can we talk about something else, seriously? It's bad enough you and Brooke fucking had an intervention about this shit."

"Alright fine, we'll stop talking about it. But you can't hold it off any longer."

"Yeah I know, just like we can't hold off the fact that the next fight night is in a couple of weeks."

Haley groaned, "You just had to mention that, didn't you? I was just starting to forgive Nathan."

"What was there to even forgive?" Rachel snorted.

Haley glared at her, "I know, and it sounded stupid when I thought about it."

"Have you talked to him and apologized yet?" Rachel asked as they approached Haley's locker. She began to turn the combination and jerked it open. A piece of white paper fell out and landed with an odd thud onto the floor.

"No, I've kind of been avoiding him since this morning," Haley explained, reaching down and picking up the loose piece of paper. She glanced at it absent mindedly, but then had to do a couple take. It seemed like somebody had glued hard macaroni to the piece of paper, making out the words 'I'M SORRY.'

Rachel took one glance before her bottom lip poked out, "Awwwe Haley! Nathan made this for you?!"

"I guess so," Haley mumbled, still in surprised. It wasn't exactly the nicest craft, but it was cute and it showed that he really was sorry. Haley didn't know what to make of it, but it certainly did being a warm feeling to her stomach.

"He knows that macaroni and cheese is your favorite," Rachel stated. "I told you he likes you."

* * *

It had always been in Brooke's nature to be nosey. Sometimes she didn't even know she was scooping for evidence or certain information, it was just impulse. Scrounging around for secrets about Lucas Scott was definitely not something that she set out to do. Brooke didn't know what came over her, but in a few short weeks she was as so far as to be obsessed with wanting to know more about where he came from and why he is the way that he is. And Jake was going to be the person to give her what she wanted to know.

There was no one around when she reached the library, probably because everyone was at lunch right now. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of food since she had skipped out of breakfast this morning on account of being late for class.

Just then Jake walked into the library, adjusting his messenger bag. Brooke smirked. He seemed to be having cold feet, and she couldn't say she didn't feel bad. She wasn't an idiot, she knew that if Lucas ever knew that Jake had spilled to her, their friendship might as well have been over. But Brooke wasn't going to be the reason two boys stopped being friends. Jake would never be linked.

"Alright, let's just get this over wtih," he said, sitting across from at a single table.

"You're acting like I made you come here."

He scoffed, "Well it's not like you gave me a choice, either."

"You got a point there. Just so you know, Lucas will never find out that we met like this, and if he asks, I'll just say that I heard two girls talking about it in the bathroom or something," Brooke explained.

"If I wouldn't know any better, it kind of sounds like we're sneaking around behind his back," Jake smirked.

Brooke chuckled, "We might as well be, other than the fact that I only see you as a friend, Jagielski."

"Alright, I guess I better get to explaining. Basically, Lucas and Nathan have had a hard childhood. As you know, their dad Keith died a couple of years ago, and since then, their mother Karen's been on this huge mental and physical breakdown. We're talking about alcoholism, drugs, gambling, all of that."

"But, I thought that Karen was traveling around the world," Brooke said.

Jake nodded, "Traveling the world because there's no other rehabilitation center in the States that can possibly cure her. She's been jumping around Europe trying to find some other place where she has the more strict treatment that they can offer. I know it doesn't sound hard, but it's close to impossible to get rid of her addiction."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah, and it doesn't help any that Lucas and Nathan got into steroids and those type of drugs not long after Karen left. That's another reason why they fought in the first place, to pay their drug and pot dealers. The reason that they're so secretive about it is because if word got out to Cooper or anyone else, they could be arrested or in some serious trouble with some higher people," Jake explained.

Brooke never pegged Lucas let alone Nathan as people that did drugs and smoked weed. Just the thought made her stomach cringe. It made her think that they were just like those guys that she knew in California who leaned against statues in the park while they got baked.

Jake licked his lips, "Look, I know it doesn't seem much right now, but Lucas and Nathan have hurt a lot of people in the past also, we're talking near death. Lucas even put someone on life support, and it wasn't even an actual fight. That's why everyone's so quiet about it. He could also get arrested for that."

"So, how many people know that Lucas hurt someone that bad?"

He shrugged, "It's hard to tell. So right now it's only me, you, Owen, Nathan, and Peyton. But no doubt there's some other people that know, but they're too scared to say anything."

"So this is what Peyton was talking about. She said that there was a lot that I didn't know about Lucas, and I might not like it once I knew."

"Yeah, there's most people that don't. I guess Peyton figured you were this perfect girl that liked to judge people. At least, that's probably what she was counting on."

"The funny thing is, that's not me at all. They've really been through the mill, huh?" Brooke asked.

Jake nodded, "But it's a more mental thing than anything else. They're still hurting over Keith's death, they've never really gotten over it, especially Lucas. Nathan's torn about it too, but he's starting to accept it and think more positive and look forward. Lucas just seems to be stuck. That's why he likes fighting so much, it's because he's angry all the time. He doesn't even know what he's fighting for."

"I can imagine that," Brooke said.

"But the point is, we all keep this quiet in respect for them and for Keith's memory, and also because we don't want to land ourselves in a hospital bed like the other guy. Now, I'm not saying that Lucas and Nathan aren't good people, because they are, but they're battling their own demons, by themseves, which kind of makes it a little it trickier. I hope you'll keep your promise by pretending that we didn't just have this conversation."

"So is that what you're so worried about? Me telling Lucas that it was you who filled me in on all the things on his naughty list?"

"Well the list is a tad bit longer, but I doubt that you'll want to hear about those. Are you going to corner him with this information?" Jake asked.

"I was thinking about it, but I've decided not to. What kind of person would I be if I did that?"

"Thanks. So? What's going to happen now between you two?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Come on, Brooke. The only reason that you ended your short lived friendship is because you were mad at how gruesome and violent he can be, even though we all have a little bit of that in us. And the little thing about you knowing nothing about him, and Peyton didn't exactly help either with her little inputs. You know everything that you could need to know."

"What if I have no idea what to do with it? I mean, I know now, but where does that leave me?"

"That's all up to you."


	8. Friends Do That, Right?

**Author's Note: **I know, it's been awhile since I've updated. My bad. I've been really busy with school and hanging out with friends that I haven't had a chance to get this chapter up. I've been done with it for a couple of weeks, just writing some here and there, and now I finally had a chance to get ahold of my mom's computer to upload it. I have a MacBook, and I don't want to confuse myself with the different software or programs I have to download to be able to upload chapters from the word-type program on my computer.

Tons of Brooke and Lucas going on in this chapter. I was a little tired of having them not have any sort of interaction, so I made it come a lot earlier than I was expecting. I know most writers have it set in stone what they want each chapter to be about before they write it. I'm sure not all people do that, but there's a majority of people that I've noticed that do that. Well, I'm not one of those people lol. I tend to write as I go. But anyways, I'm rambling. Brooke and Lucas learn more about each other in this chapter, and kind of sets the pace for their friendship. I know that a lot of you don't like Peyton, and let's face it, neither do I. But I do think it's funny as hell to have her annoying ass bugging Lucas and Brooke, so I'm going to stick with that and roll with it.

I have been keeping track of One Tree Hill, and I must say that I'm kind of bored. Nathan and Haley and Jamie are being their cute family selves like always. The whole Peyton cancer thing is kind of intriguing to me, but we'll see where that goes. Owen pissed me off lol, so now I'm jumping on the Brooke/Julian boat. I can't wait for OTH to air back on again next month, I'm missing my weekly dose. Review !

* * *

It was safe to say that he was the only teenager hanging around outdoors tonight. Everyone was probably at Club Zero, either waiting in line with fake I.D's, or getting wasted, waiting for the main event. There was no doubt in Lucas' mind that he was alone in the night, while everyone else was having fun, and he was left in his own thoughts. Times like these made him comtemplate about his life, and everything that he had done wrong and right. He had to admit, there was more wrong than right.

Han-Dok was his opponent tonight, and it pissed Lucas off to no extent. Sure, Nathan would sure as hell get Felix just as much as his brother wanted to, but it didn't help that Lucas basically had no other shot to take a whack at Felix and finish him off for good. Quite frankly, he wanted to kill the fucking jackass, but he wasn't in the mood to get put in jail at the moment.

Nathan was already warming up at the club, since his match was before his. Maybe he should've already been there, doing the same thing, trying to psyche himself up. But he didn't want to. For the first time in a long time, Lucas wasn't in the mood to kill someone, and he kind of liked it. Kind of. It annoyed him that he felt like he was helpless, like he was vulnerable. He didn't feel like being angry, and he couldn't figure out for the life of him why.

Sometimes he missed basketball, but he didn't miss it as much as he missed it right now. Standing on the Rivercourt, he never felt more isolated. Just the thought of shooting kind of weirded him out with a sense of nostalgia. He was standing there in grey sweats and a black TAPOUT T-shirt, looking completely out of place. The streetlights had come on, which meant that all the little kids were sitting at their dinner tables eating dinner, having conversations and laughing with their parents and their siblings. He never felt more alone and dreadful.

"Shouldn't you be at Zero?" a raspy voice said from behind him. He was so caught up on his thought that he didn't even turn around. Brooke had made her way to the middle of the court. It was oddly cold night for the fall. She was dressed in jeans and heels with only a white jacket on. All very casual things, but her face would always stand out even if she was wearing the most fabulous attire ever. Her hair was straight this time, impeccably straight. That was the only difference from her looking as wonderful and beautiful as she did now.

"Yeah, I should. Why are you here?" he asked, his hands deep inside his pockets. The last time he had seen Brooke, she was talking to Jake. He couldn't say that didn't piss him off, because it did so bad that he wanted to punch Jake in the nose. But he didn't. Refrain was actually on his side that one time. Lucas had done his best to avoid her at all costs, and for the past couple of weeks it was working, until now.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I was on my way to the club actually, and I saw you standing here. I guess I just wanted to know why you were here also."

"I don't know either. I just wanted to be alone for a little bit. Have you ever gotten that feeling that you just wanted to be isolated from everything and everyone, only silence as your companion?" he said wisely.

Brooke nodded, "I know the feeling. I get that all the time." She looked around, trying to find the words to say to take back all the times she tried to ignore him and told everyone that they would never be friends ever. She was starting to actually feel bad about that, and she knew she couldn't NOT talk to Lucas or be his friend. That was out of the cards. She just hoped that he would be willing to start over. "Look Lucas, I just wanted to apologize for the way I've been acting the past couple of weeks. I was out of line. I thought I knew everything about you, but it turns out I don't. I was hoping we would start over and be friends again...?"

"What does it matter if you know everything about me or not? I don't know anything about you either."

"It wasn't that I wanted to know everything about you, I just wanted to know you. I guess I sort of got freaked out when I saw you like that. It's some personal things that happened to me when I was a child. You... You kind of reminded me of my father," she murmured under her breath, but Lucas heard her.

"So your father was an abusive, angry, asshole?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No. Well, I guess sometimes he could be an asshole. Actually, he was an asshole all the time. And he broke stuff, and people. He's an angry haunted man. I never really understood what haunted him, but I saw what it did to him. I just didn't want another person like that in my life."

"Then why apologize and want to be friends again?"

"Because I know that's not who you are. I tried to convince myself my whole life that my dad wasn't like that. But that's all I've ever known of him, so I guess that's just who he is, and who he'll always be. But you, you're different. I know that's not who you are."

Lucas sighed, "I guess that makes sense. But it's not like I didn't do anything. I should've made it clear to you what I do. But I have no problem being friends again. I would love to be friends again."

She smiled, "Good, because I miss making fun of you. So shouldn't you get going?"

"Unfortunately. I was hoping to stay out as long as I could. But Nathan needs me there. And plus, if I'm not there, I'm not earning money."

"You say it with such casualty. Aren't you kind of, scared, even a little?"

"Why would I be scared?"

"Well, from what I heard, Han-Dok is a crazy son of a bitch," she smirked. "And plus, didn't you have a hard time beating him last time?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, that is true. But I've done this so many times before that I can't really get scared."

"I guess I can believe that. So, can I give you a ride?" she asked, gesturing to her powder blue VW bug convertible.

He stared at it in disbelief, "Um, sure, I guess you can. But, are you sure you don't want to ride in my car?" he asked, gesturing to his mustang.

"What's wrong with my car?" she asked.

Lucas shook his head, swinging his bag over his shoulder, "Nothing. It just seems a little girly to me."

"It's a car!" she exclaimed.

"It's a bug!" he said, sitting in the passenger seat. He had to admit, it was pretty nice. "I just can't get over the bug part of it."

Brooke turned on the ignition, and it purred silently, "You should see the horsepower on this thing."

As they begun speeding down the highway, Lucas became more and more convinced that this wasn't just any old bug.

"You might wanna grab onto the 'oh shit' handle," Brooke commented, swerving past several slow cars.

"The what handle?" he asked.

"The 'oh shit' handle," she repeated, nodding her head at the handle next to the passenger seat.

"Why do you call it the 'oh shit' handle?" he asked, holding onto it as she cut another car off.

"Because that's usually what people say before they grab onto it," she smirked.

He nodded, "That is true. So, you had to have done something to this car. I mean, I have never seen a bug that went this fast."

"You're right. I did soup it up a little when I first got it."

"Then why not just get a sports car?"

"I already have one. It should be shipped over here by Christmas time as a gift from the absentee parents. Right now it's getting a different stereo system installed. But the reason I drive this is because I've never gotten pulled over before, even as fast as I go. It's powder blue, and blue's a really lazy color, so it never looks like it's going as fast as it really is," she explained.

Lucas looked at her incredulously, "So I'm guessing you know a thing or two about cars."

"More than you might think. I love this bug, it's been with me through some tough times. But I can't wait to get my hands on my other car."

"What car is it that you're getting?" Lucas asked. "Is it good enough to take on my car?"

"I'm pretty sure it can," she answered back. "Ever heard of a ZO6?"

"Are you trying to tell me that you're getting a Corvette?" he asked.

"Yup, and it's getting made into a convertible just for my liking," she said proudly.

"I think that will definitely be the first ZO6 convertible."

"I think it will be. Nice, it only took a good 15 minutes to get here," she said, pulling into the parking lot of Club Zero.

"When it usually takes 25," he said, opening up the door.

"May I ask why we're here instead of the Pit?" she asked, shutting the door and locking it.

Lucas shrugged, "I couldn't tell you. I haven't had an actual conversation with Cooper since my last fight. Nathan's the one that handled all of it."

"Well, this place is a little less dirty," she said, the music reverberating against her chest.

"It's a lot less dirty, you can admit it," he said. "Looks like Nathan's already half way through his fight." in the middle of the club was a huge square mat with Nathan and Felix on it. The longer he stood there, the more angry he became, watching the guy that he wanted to kill with his bare hands try to take a punch at his brother. He turned to face Brooke, who, surprisingly, wasn't as disgusted as she was before. He didn't want to leave her, just when things were going good between them. But he had to get ready for his fight, and he needed to win it.

"Listen, I have to go get ready," he said guiltily.

"No, it's fine. I'm just going to go find Haley and Rachel," she said.

"I'm really glad we're friends again," Lucas said before disappearing in the crowd. Brooke smiled to herself before returning her attention to the match. So far it looked like Nathan had this in the bag, and would only walk away with a few bruises.

"Looks like you made it," Haley shouted over the noise, nudging her.

"Yeah, I made it," she said, looking forward to the night.

"And you weren't alone, either," Rachel commented, downing her drink.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "We're friends, okay? Plus, we were both going to the same place, why would I not give him a ride?"

"You keep telling yourself that. You like him," Haley said knowingly.

"Oh okay, and what about you Tutorgirl? What about you and the other Scott, huh?"

"Yeah Hales, what about that cute little macaroni artwork that he made for you?" Rachel smirked.

Haley looked at her, "Okay, since we're talking about guys. Rachel, what ever happened to you and Owen? You guys exclusive yet?"

"Okay how about we not discuss the guys in our lives for tonight?" Rachel said, not wanting to bring up the pending relationship between her and a very hunky fighter.

"Fine with us. And just in time to see Nathan take the win," Brooke said as the girls watched Nathan get Felix into a submission move. Felix's face was going from red to purple, and it was only a matter of time before he tapped out. It was kind of stupid now to imagine that this actually bothered her. But she was slowly getting over it since this was the sport of Tree Hill besides basketball.

"So who's Lucas supposed to be fighting tonight? I would've thougth Cooper would've set him up with Felix instead of Nathan," Rachel said.

Brooke shrugged, "Me too, but I guess Nathan did a good enough job for him. He's against Han-Dok."

"That crazy Japanaese dude with the purple mohawk?! He's fucking psycho!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yeah I know," she replied.

"Hopefully Lucas can pull that one out of his ass."

* * *

"Lucas you better fucking get your head out of your ass and take him down!" Owen yelled from the sidelines as Lucas received the beating that no one expected from Han-Dok. He could've sworn the dude for three times bigger from the last time he saw him. In his peripheral vision he saw the faces of Owen, Nathan, and Jake yelling different moves and tactics to get out of his current predicament. But with his back to the mat and his head constantly getting pounded, he couldn't tell up from down.

Tonight was supposed to be a good night. It was supposed to be a night where good things happened, and he prevailed. He could've sworn he felt it when he walked right into the club with Brooke next to him. Brooke. Where was she anyway?

Right there, standing between Rachel and Haley, all of them with shocked looks. It was rare that anyone ever saw Lucas getting beat. "Come on, Lucas!" she exclaimed, her raspy voice standing out from the rest of the cheers from the whole club.

With one deep inhale, Lucas swung his legs over Han-Dok's torso, pushing him backward, positions reversed. When he figured out where his head is, Lucas began pounding into him, not caring if it looked gruesome or not, he was pretty sure he looked just as bad. Getting him in a Triangle Choke, Lucas held on for dear life, just as he felt desperate tapping on his thigh. Call it even.

The crowd erupted, but it was only background music to the huge ringing of his ears. There was no doubt in his mind that he looked like shit right now. The referee held his hand up, and he felt a cramp on his tricep. Nathan and Owen cleared the crowd to that he could get to the back.

The cold tiles cooled the bottom of his feet. A little room to bathe and get ready in was not the most glamorous setting, but it felt like it to him as opposed to getting the shit beat out of his head. He grabbed the towel on top of his bag and cautiously wiped his head.

"At least your bruises aren't too bad," Nathan commented, handing him a plastic bag full of ice.

"Thanks," he said with a mix of sarcasm and gratefulness. "So, what's the damage?"

"You got two bruises on your ribs, not too bad. Your tricep is swollen, but that'll change once you stretch the cramp out. And don't even get me started on your face," Owen explained expertly, grabbing ahold of Lucas' right tricep, bending and straightening it out.

"Is it really that bad?" Lucas asked, but not even wanting to know the actual damage of his face. Call him a girl, but his face meant a lot to him, but not in that sense. What person really wanted to walk around with his face all busted up for everyone to see? Not Lucas Scott.

Owen chuckled, "No, not really. But you do got one hell of a shiner on your eye, but that should clear up by the weekend. That cut above your eyebrow though is going to need a few stitches."

"Great," he muttered, just wanting to lay in his bed until he would have to get up Monday morning.

"Great is right. What a comeback, Luke," Cooper said at the doorway. He was holding a brown paper grocery bag, the all too familiar symbol of success. "I mean really. For a second there I thought you were done for. That would've been the first time you'd ever walk away without any money."

"Well, it's a good thing I won then," Lucas said, leaving it at that. He was in no mood for the shit talking that he had to endure with Cooper everytime he came in contact with the guy.

Cooper chuckled softly, "Alright, I can take the hint. Here's your cash. I'll call you to let you know about your next fight. Nathan, Owen," he nodded before leaving, the loud music getting louder and then dimming as the door completely shut.

Nathan grabbed the bag and peeked his head inside, nodding approvingly. "Looks like you got about eight hundred bucks in here. Nice job, Luke."

"How much did you get?" he asked, pulling a short sleeved black button shirt.

"Seven hundred. It was too easy to beat Felix," Nathan smirked. "He didn't have any brass knuckles that time."

"So what? Are we getting out of here, or sticking around?" Owen asked, stretching his arms.

"Luke?" Nathan asked, waiting for his opinion.

Taking two Aspirin, he sat there for a moment. In all honesty, he wanted to get home and get some sleep, bottom line. But he realized that Brooke was out there right now, probably hanging with Rachel and Haley, having fun. He would like to believe that maybe she was waiting for him, that maybe she wanted to hang out with him just as much as he wanted to hang out with her. They were friends after all.

"I think I'm going to go find Brooke and the girls; see if they want to hang back at the house," Lucas said, getting up.

Nathan and Owen looked at each other, confused.

"Woah, what?" Owen asked, grabbing his bag too.

"We talked before I got here, and we're friends again," he shrugged, not wanting to make it a big deal, when in reality he was really happy about it.

"So, that's it? You guys talk and now you're friends?" Nathan asked. "But I thought she wasn't feeling your whole fighting thing?"

"Well now she is, I guess," Lucas said. "Let's just go find them. I'll tell you about it later." But he wouldn't. He wouldn't tell them anything about the conversation him and Brooke had earlier that night. They were his brothers, but he wasn't going to say a damn thing.

The music reverberated against his chest, and it didn't help his headache either. But he was a man on a mission: To find the most gorgeous dimpled brunette in the room, and to invite him back over to his house to hang out. As friends, of course.

It didn't take long either. She was sitting in a corner of the club, talking and laughing with Haley and Rachel. He got closer and closer until he ran straight into a fragile scrawny figure. Or more like she ran into him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Peyton asked, crossing her arms and cocking her hip. Lucas sighed, so much for trying to avoid her. It had been a good couple of weeks since him and Peyton had hooked up, and like always, she thought that she owned him.

"I'm going to talk to Brooke, not like it's any of your business," he stated, making sure that she knew that he wasn't going to listen to her.

"You do realize that she hates you, right?"

"We talked, Peyton. And now we're friends," he said boredly, knowing where this was going to go.

"So what? Now you're looking to nail her before she can realize what you are?" she snapped. This was what Peyton did whenever she felt that she was losing control. She became an out of control, snappy bitch, and most of the time Lucas was on the receiving end. He had learned a long time ago not to get that mad about it.

"No, that's not what I'm doing. We're friends, you know, what me and you used to be before you started trying to control my life."

"Well, from the way I remember it, a few weeks ago I think we were being more than friends." Great, throw that into the mix.

"Peyton, I don't have to answer to you anymore. In fact, I never did. Me and Brooke are just friends, and I want to go and talk to her. You have no say in what I do or who I want to talk to, so stop trying to act like you do. We've been over this before," he said before stepping around her. He should've known it wouldn't be that easy.

Before he took the first step, she grabbed his arm like she was holding on for dear life. "She'll never accept you for who you really are, Luke," she said. She always did this when she was sure that her time was up. She pulled the 'No one knows you like I do' card, and he would walk away with her, like he always did. And Peyton was right, probably no one would know him like she did. But that's what didn't work out for him. Lucas didn't want her to know him that good.

"Hey Luke, good match out there," a raspy, all saving voice said from the other side of him. Brooke was standing there with a friendly face, taking away the heavy substance of his current conversation with the curly blonde.

"Excuse me, but we were in the middle of something," Peyton said, gesturing to her and Lucas.

Brooke shrugged, "Well, it looked to me that you were done with that something." If he wasn't so annoyed with Peyton at the moment, he would've thought Brooke's comeback was incredibly sexy and probably would've turned him on. But like always, Peyton ruined it.

"We'll talk about this later," Peyton said briskly before brushing past both of them. Brooke chuckled under her breath while Lucas grinned at her.

"That was nice of you," he said.

"Eh, well it's the least I could do since you're beat up pretty bad," she said, scrunching her nose.

"Yeah, but I could've gotten rid of her by myself."

Brooke nodded, "Yeah, you could have. But everyone needs saving once in awhile."

He smiled serenely at her statement. "So, what are you doing right now?"

She kinked her eyebrow, "Uhm, well in case you didn't notice, I'm at Club Zero right now, and I just got finished watching hot shirtless guys get clobbered for money. And about a minute ago I was saving one of those guys from his psycho ex girlfriend."

He chuckled at her humor, "What are you doing after all of that?"

"That I can't answer. The night is still young."

"Well if you're interested you guys can come hang out back at the house with us. I'm not really wanting to be hanging around here any longer."

"I'll talk to Rachel and Haley and meet you there," she said before disappearing in the crowd. He stood there, kind of confused. That was it? Shaking his head, he found Owen and Nathan not that far behind him.

"We're meeting them there," Lucas informed them before making his way to the fire exit. There was no way they'd be able to get out in the main entrance. He had left his car over at the Rivercourt, but he didn't care, he would get it tomorrow.

"So, are you ever going to tell us what happened to you and Brooke?" Nathan asked he pulled out of the parking lot. In the distance there was a powder blue car racing down the road.

"Nope."

* * *

"So, this is the house," Brooke said, pulling into the semi crowded driveway of the Scott house.

"You say that like it's a holy temple or something," Haley said.

Rachel snorted, "Well, it kind of is. It does hold four of the hottest guys in the school."

"Owen and Jake live here also?" Brooke asked, locking her car door.

"Basically, they're always over here and sleep here all the time," Rachel said, opening the front door and stepping inside.

"Well you have manners. Don't you know you're supposed to knock?"

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever Brooke, you have a lot to learn here. One, we don't knock, we walk right in like we own the place."

Haley nudged Brooke, "That's what she thinks."

Lucas, Nathan, and Owen were laying on the couch. Lucas was on the computer while Nathan and Jake were deeply immersed in the television. Just by looking at them you wouldn't think they were MMA fighters. They looked just like normal teenage kids. Well, aside from the strong bands of muscle around their arms.

"Why am I not surprised?" Rachel asked, giving the television a glance and rolling her eyes. She sat on the couch and began playing with her phone, trying to make her night a little more interesting. It wasn't like she was getting any action while Owen was so immersed in this UFC fight.

"If it bothers you that much, then why are you here? The doors right there if you didn't know, you certainly don't knock," Nathan said, glaring at Rachel. Owen jabbed Nathan in the arm with his elbow.

"Chill out, man," Owen said under his breath as him and Nathan returned back to the match.

Brooke sat up, suddenly very interested in what was going on. "Hey who's that guy there in the tight shorts? He's hot." Lucas whipped around, somewhat shocked that she was publicly admitting a guy was attractive.

He cleared his throat, "That's Roger Huerta. He's a pretty decent fighter," he shrugged.

She cocked her eyebrow, "You think you can beat him?"

Lucas shrugged, "I don't know. It's not like I'll ever get the chance. But I think I could take him."

Nathan and Owen snorted. Lucas glared at them.

"Well it's not like you two goons would be able to," he said defensively. "Nathan's got no left hook and Owen relies too much on the fact that he's bigger than everybody."

"Yeah well you don't exactly have endurance either, Luke. You might want to hit up the cardio, man," Owen said.

"He's got an excuse, Owen," Nathan said, and they quickly dismissed it.

"Georges St. Pierre's hot too," Rachel commented. "I just want to rub his bald head and tree trunk thighs."

Brooke rolled her eyes. Leave it to Rachel to break the ice, so to speak. Haley remained on the couch and had not said a word since. She kept on sending thoughtful looks at Nathan, and he wasn't exactly oblivious to it. Rachel was making stupid comments, making Owen even more jealous, and Brooke and Lucas weren't feeling comfortable at all in the small living room.

"Hey do you mind if I use your bathroom?" Brooke asked casually.

Lucas stood up, "Yeah I'll show you where it is." Nathan eyed his brother wearily, making sure he wasn't getting any ideas. But this was Lucas we were talking about, the only person he was ever really came onto was Peyton, and that was because she was asking for it.

"It's right here," he said, pointing to the last door down the hallway.

"Thanks," she muttered before disappearing behind the door. Lucas went to his bedroom besides the living room switched the light on. Besides the Rivercourt, his room was definitely his safe haven. He had to share it with Nathan, but his brother never went in there unless he was sleeping or changing clothes.

The worn out copy of the Great Gatsby was sitting on his dresser. He had already read it hundreds of times, but he always reread all the books he really liked. He had finished it earlier that day, and forgot to put it back in his little shelf he had in the corner.

"That's a cute little book collection you got there," Brooke said from the doorway. "I didn't know you liked to read."

Lucas chuckled, "Yeah, most people wouldn't think that. But I've always loved books. You won't hear Nathan saying that, though."

"I didn't think I would. What's your current read?" she asked, sitting on his bed.

"Well, I just finished reading the Great Gatsby. I've read it before, but I keep on reading it, along with all my other favorite books. What're you reading?"

Brooke snorted, "I haven't really read anything since I've moved here. But in California I was reading Pride and Prejudice."

"You like Jane Austen?" he asked, impressed.

She shrugged, "Not really. It was a book assigned to read for school. I got a nerd to write my book report."

He laughed, "Now why doesn't that surprise me."

"What? You don't think I'm into reading?"

"You're not."

"That's true. But if you didn't know that, you'd think I haven't even picked up a book, and the closest thing to it was a Cosmopolitan magazine."

"Would that assumption be correct?"

"Almost, but I'm more of a Vogue type of girl," she smirked. "Well there was that one time I had to read a manual for working my stereo system in my car, but other than that, I don't read."

"Speaking of cars, I need to go by the Rivercourt and pick my car up," Lucas said, suddenly remembering his pride and joy parked in the grass of the basketball court. Tree Hill was probably one of the safest places to be, but it was a small town, and the folks that hung around the outskirts definitely weren't definitions of good people.

"I can drive you by there on my way home," Brooke offered, looking through the picture frames on a dresser. There was a family picture, one with just the boys, and one with Nathan and Lucas with, she was guessing, Keith. Next to the pictures was an orange pill bottle.

"Um, yeah, thanks," Lucas said.

"Dude what the fuck! Did Huerta just get knocked out?" they heard Nathan shriek from the living room.

Brooke chuckled, "We might wanna get back out there. We don't want them to get the wrong idea."

"Yes, that would be annoying," Lucas pointed out as they entered the living room. Owen had his face buried in his hands and Nathan was gripping his hair, staring at the television screen.

"Hmm, looks like the 'hottie' just lost," Lucas said smugly.

"Doesn't matter, he's still hot," Brooke brushed off. "Anyways, when are you guys planning on leaving?"

Haley yawned, "Right now would be fine. Plus, we've got practice tomorrow morning."

"Well we're going to stop by the Rivercourt first. Lucas needs to pick up his car," Brooke explained.

"In that case Owen will take us home. I'm way too tired. Let's go, Owen," Rachel said, slapping Owen in the arm. Nathan remained where he was, staring at the screen, waiting for the next match to take place. Haley and Rachel gave Brooke questioning looks.

"Let me know who wins that one, Nate," Owen said, rubbing his eyes. Nathan nodded.

"If mom calls tell her I'll talk to her tomorrow," Lucas said, grabbing his jacket. Nathan continued nodding, completely not caring what everyone else was doing, or the fact that it was just him at the house.

The night was cool, which was a shock to most people. This was the south, it was hardly ever cold unless it was dead in December.

"Looks like this'll be the second time tonight you'll be riding in my bug. Embarassed?" she asked, turning on the ignition. The engine purred just like before.

"I'm getting over the girliness of it all. As long as it goes fast, it doesn't matter to me," he decided.

"Now you say that," she said as she sped along the quiet streets. They settled into a comfortable silence, the music serving as background noise to their thoughts. Brooke glanced sideways at him.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" she asked curiously.

Lucas looked at her, "Sure."

"Well, I was kind of being nosy and looking at the pictures of you and Nathan and your dad and I saw this pill bottle. You're not taking anything bad, are you? I mean, I know it's none of my business, but take it from someone who knows drugs, I strongly advise you not-"

"Brooke, I'm not taking drugs if that's what you're trying to ask me," Lucas interrupted, sort of flattered that she actually cared what he was doing with his life.

"Then, what are the pills for?"

Lucas sighed, "I have this heart condition known as HCM. My dad's brother had it, and I guess I ended up getting it as well. Dan died a couple of years ago, and he wasn't a good guy. I have to take medication for it so that I don't collapse and die."

"You say that like it's not that big of a deal."

He shrugged, "I try not to make a big deal about it. I don't want to worry my mom and Nathan. That's another reason why I fight, so I can pay for my medication. Prescription's not cheap, you know."

"But even if you do take your medication, isn't it still dangerous for you to be fighting like that?" she asked.

"Yeah, there are some risks. But the side effects are more annoying. Like I get tired more easily, the more stuff that I do." Brooke suddenly remembered when Lucas, Nathan, and Owen were arguing back at the house about each other's fighting skills. Owen said that Lucas had no endurance, but with reason.

"Wow, I'm learning different things about you everyday," Brooke smirked, pulling into the grass next to the Rivercourt. Lucas opened the door and shut it quietly. He walked around the car to the drivers side.

"The same goes for me. You now know that I don't like to read," she stated.

"Yeah but that's not as interesting, although now I know not to suggest a book to you. There's more interesting things than that, I'm sure of it."

"I guess you're just going to have to figure them out then. See ya later, Scott," she said, winking at him playfully, leaving him standing there, suddenly even more intrigued about the brunette beauty.


	9. Forgive Me

**Author's Note; **Thanks everyone for the reviews, I'm glad that you're liking this whole new story. It's been awhile since my last update, but it took me awhile to write this chapter just because I've been worrying about three other stories. I've been writing and brainstorming nonstop and I have a ton of ideas with what I want to do next.

I know that I've been focused on a lot of Brooke and Lucas, what with their friendship, or whatever it is that they have going on at this point. But I really wanted to draw the attention away from them for a minute and start letting you guys look at all the other characters, just to let you know that it's not just about Brooke and Lucas. There's basically everybody in there, Nathan, Haley, Owen, Jake, Peyton, Rachel, the whole gang basically.

Once again thanks for all the reviews, but especially **cheeryxotigger**. I absolutely loved your long review. I really liked all the things that you said because that was the whole insight that I was going for, I just hadn't written yet. But thanks again for that review, it really inspired me to go more in depth into all the characters lives and put more substance into them than the stereotypical platform that all the characters from the show are put on. Enjoy &Review!

* * *

Chapter Nine; Forgive Me.

Nathan had to find Haley James.

He had known her for most of his life. She was intelligent, witty, and sarcastic, all into one. They didn't exactly run with the same crowd, but whenever they did, it was like they had done that forever. It was only now, when she was pissed as hell at him, that he realized that he wanted to be really good friends with Haley.

But Nathan couldn't really do that if the girl was nowhere to be found.

There were no words to express the stupidity he felt as he sat in his kitchen for an hour gluing macaroni noodles to a piece of construction paper. Lucas, Jake, and Owen had sat there, making fun of him until the very end. Peyton had showed up a little while later, saying that she thought it was sweet that he was trying to hard to get her to forgive him. If she wasn't such a bitch, Nathan would've thought it was nice of her.

And now, a week after he had charmed his way into getting her combination and sticking the sorry excuse for a apology note into her locker, he still had heard nothing from Haley. He did see her at Club Zero though, sne she didn't look mad as she watched him punch the shit out of Felix Taggaro. That had to mean something.

But aside from that, she was nowhere to be found.

So now, Nathan Scott was on a mission to find Haley James. He had expected her to approach him or at least call him to let him know that she forgave him and that they were friends again. But Nathan had gotten none of that, and it would suck if she didn't forgive him.

Nathan had scouted her house for the past twenty minutes, and he figured that she wasn't going to be around anytime soon, so he headed off through town, driving at about ten miles per hour, maybe hoping for a chance that she'd be walking down the street. But she wasn't. She was nowhere to be found.

Parking his car in front of Karen's Cafe, he decided to check to see if she was working. Even though his mother wasn't around anymore to admire the scene, Nathan admired it all on his own. He just wished his mom would come back home to see that all she left behind was still standing. Including him and his brother.

Cupping his hands on either side of his eyes, he looked through the window to see if she was there. There were tons of people there drinking coffee, having pie, and typing away on their laptops. People that he knew personally, and people that he had never seen in his life. But no Haley.

This was getting ridiculous.

* * *

"This is getting ridiculous," Jake exclaimed. "O, what the hell are you doing?"

Owen grunted, "What the fuck does it look like I'm doing? We're at the damn gym, Jake."

Jake sighed. Working out was probably one of the most essential things of being a fighter. You had to be able to pick someone up and throw them down. You had to be able to pack a punch so hard your opponent flies back along with his two front teeth. Jake was all for that, but he knew that they were here for the wrong reasons.

"I know we're at the gym. The problem is, you shouldn't be here right now. You should be trying to get Rachel back."

"No, fuck that. I ask her for a relationship and she goes running for the hills? What? Isn't that supposed to be my job?"

For a guy like Owen, the desire to be in any kind of relationship at all was a miracle within itself. In fact, the roles should've been reversed. He shouldn't be the one suggesting it, he should've been the one in the relationship to turn it down. But that wasn't the case, and for a moment, Owen wished it was.

Because he wouldn't go running. No, he would've stood his ground and agreed with wanting to be exclusive. Boyfriend, girlfriend. In fact, it would've made him no happier than to have Rachel as his girlfriend. He just wished she would see that and feel the same way.

He had to give it to her. The girl was good at hurting his feelings. She was real good at that. But she was good at making him happy too, in more ways than one. So it caught him off guard when she went storming out of his car that one night, and had been ignoring him ever since.

Owen understood that Rachel had a messed up childhood what with being raised by nannies without any parents to give her guidance. He got that. He himself had a shitty upbringing also, with his absentee father and crackhead of a mother. Hell, he had even failed ninth grade. He and Rachel never had a very good examply of a good relationship, but it didn't mean that they couldn't have something there.

"You could say that is your job. It's usually the guy that freaks out, but Rachel's different, man, and if you really want her to be your girlfriend, then you need to go talk to her. Plain and simple," Jake explained, doing barbell curls.

"I don't want to go try to talk to her just to get shut down again. It's obvious that she's not budging."

"Owen, do you want to be with Rachel?" Jake asked, wiping his forehead with a towel.

He glared at his friend, "Of course I do."

"Then you need to do everything in your power to make her see that. And if you're not up for it, then you don't really want to be with her."

* * *

"Lucas? What are you doing here?" Brooke asked curiously. Lucas was standing at her door, hands on his pockets, kind of confused as to why he was there in the first place. They had just seen each other the day before.

"Uhm, is this a bad time?" he asked sheepishly.

Brooke shook her head, "Oh no, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting you, that's all."

Things with Brooke and Lucas had been going good. They were pretty good friends for the most part, without a little awkwardness of their former attraction from the beginning. He made her think, she made him laugh. It was a win/win situation. Although Brooke wished she could say the same for the others.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be here either," he chuckled. "Not that I didn't want to see you or anything. It's just that, Nate's been freaking out because he can't get ahold of Haley, and he's going all around town trying to look for her, and he asked if I would ask you if you knew where she was."

Now Brooke hadn't known Haley for a long time, but she knew her long enough to know that her just taking off wasn't normal at all. Haley was the level headed, responsible, intelligent person, along with the fact that she always answered her phone.

"Hm. Well I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's just running some errands and forgot to check her phone," she suggested.

Lucas nodded, "Yeah that's what I'm thinking. But Nate really wants to find her and talk that whole thing out, you know."

"It's about time. The macaroni artwork was nice," she smirked.

"Yeah, it took him a whole hour to finish. But he really wants to get his friendship with Haley back."

"Are you sure it's just friendship?"

As the new girl in town, Brooke had spend her time observing and getting to know people. She knew first hand that Rachel and Owen were two people who wanted to be together, but were just scared because that was something they've never done before. Jake wasn't really a tough guy, but a creative musician who just wanted to play his guitar. Lucas couldn't get over his father's death. Peyton was a lonely girl that didn't want to be lonely anymore. And Nathan and Haley had a hell of a lot more than just friendship going on.

But it's not like they would all see that or admit it to themselves. And Brooke would never tell them that. But she couldn't help it. This Haley and Nathan business was just ridiculous, and she had to tell somebody, so why not his twin brother.

"They've been friends for years. We all have," Lucas said.

"Come on Lucas. Who spends time like that making a kindergarten art project that should take ten minutes but took the guy an hour?"

"I don't know. It just sounds too weird. I guess it's just because I've known Haley forever and Nathan's my brother. I mean out of all of us Nate's more of the one to mess around with a lot of girls."

"Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. I probably don't. It's just a little thing I was thinking about. They would be good together."

"Yeah, maybe," Lucas said, the wheels turning in his head. "So you have no idea where Haley might be?"

Brooke shook his head, "I wish I did. But I don't."

"Okay. I got to go meet him. But, I'll see you later though."

"Alright, I hope he finds her."

"Yeah me too, it'll save me my sanity," he chuckled.

Leaving Brooke's house, he couldn't help but thinking about what Brooke had said about Haley and Nathan being good together.

Never in his wildest dreams, and he had some pretty freaky dreams, did he think that Haley and his brother could ever get together and be a couple. It was easy to say, but hard as hell to actually think about. Haley was this smart girl that would do great things in society. Nathan was a good guy too, but it was a different kind of thing with him. Lucas was pretty sure his brother wasn't going to go and be a lawyer or a doctor like Haley.

But then it got him on another note. Would be and Brooke be good together? He was an idiot for even thinking about it, but he couldn't help but wonder. There was an instant attraction the first moment he laid eyes on her. It wasn't just the fact that she was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen in his life. It went more than that. Lucas had only known her for a couple of weeks and all of a sudden he wanted to know everything about her.

He spotted Nathan on a bench around the park. He was staring straight ahead, the wheels turning, determined. Lucas ran across the street and collapsed right next to him. Nathan glanced at him for less than a second.

"Cracker Jack?" Lucas asked, glancing at the box sitting on Nathan's lap.

He shrugged, "This one guy was selling it for fifty cents. I had some change."

"God, I haven't had one of these in years," he mused, picking up the box.

"So I'm guessing since you're talking about freaking Cracker Jack that Brooke didn't know anything, right?" Nathan sighed.

Lucas shook his head, "I'm sorry bro, but Brooke hasn't seen Haley today. Just check up on her later."

"I can't. If I don't do it now, then I may never will."

"Well I got to head out and check on the Cafe, I'll see you later," Lucas said, clapping Nathan on the back before heading back toward his car. Now the more he thought about it, the more he thought his brother and Haley would be pretty good together.

Nathan sighed, getting up right after his brother did, wondering around the pier. He could not believe he spent hours looking for one girl in a small town. And he had yet to lay eyes on her all day. Maybe she was ignoring him because she didn't want to be her friend, despite the years they'd been friends and his stupid effort of an art and craft project.

There were a ton of people hanging around the pier this weekend. A lot of teenagers with skateboards practicing different tricks, the older teenagers hanging around the coffee shop, sipping iced coffees and frappuccinos. There were two people sitting on a picnic table at the end. One was wearing a letterman jacket, and the other was wearing this hideous poncho...

"Haley!" Nathan yelled, grabbing both of their attention. He jogged over to where they were, relief washing over him the closer he got. As he got closer, he got better look at the jock. It was Marcus Cerullo, the quarterback for the football team. It was safe to say that the Raven's football team sucked.

"Nathan? What are you doing here?" Haley asked, confused.

"I've been looking for you all day," Nathan explained, trying to catch his breath. "I need to talk to you."

"Uhm, we were just finishing up anyway. Marcus, remember to try the review problems at the end of the chapter, and I'll see you Monday to go over the material again for your test on Thursday," Haley said, scribbling it all down into her planner.

Marcus smiled, "Thanks again, Haley." He nodded at Nathan before grabbing his texbook and notebook. Nathan waited until he was long gone before taking his spot across from Haley.

"You have no idea how crazy I've been going looking for you," he chuckled.

Haley smiled apologetically, "Sorry. I tend to turn my phone off whenever I go into a tutor session. Cell phones kind of take you out of the zone."

"Oh, no, that's perfectly fine. I'm just glad I found you," he said, waving off any sort of apology.

"So, what were you looking for me for?" she asked.

Nathan sighed, "I haven't had a chance to talk to you all this week, and well, I needed to. Haley, I'm really sorry for about what happened before at Rachel's party. I didn't mean to upset you. But I want you to know that that's not who I am, and I think you know that. I just really want to be friends again."

"Nathan, it's really sweet of you to apologize, but you don't need to. It wasn't you, it was me. I don't necessarily think that what you guys do is right, but you all have your own reasons. I'm always going to be against it, but that shouldn't make me mad at you."

"But still, I feel horrible about it. I really want to make it up to you," he stated. Maybe Haley was right, but he wasn't taking it. He needed to do something.

She chuckled, "Nathan, you don't need to do anything. The macaroni was a nice touch, though."

He rolled his eyes, "Well I want to do something."

Haley thought about it for a moment. "Okay, you can do two things for me."

"Name it."

"One, I become your tutor again," she said, and he nodded. "And two, you let me have some of that," she finished, gesturing to the Cracker Jack box.

"Is that it?" he asked. He opened up the box and shook a little bit out, handing it to her. He wiggled the box around some more until a little toy bracelet fell out. Usually he just threw the little toys that came inside away. It wasn't like he could do anything with it.

"Here," he offered, holding it out to her.

Haley looked at him weirdly.

"No, seriously," he said, taking her hand and slipping the bracelet around it. "Don't say I never gave you anything," he said, flashing her his heart stopping smile.

She stared at the bracelet, then at Nathan, before shaking her head, smiling to herself.

* * *

It was probably the first time in two years that Rachel was so bored that she sat down and had a lazy day, eating nothing but junk food and watching the season box sets of her favorite television shows that she never had a chance to watch.

Her day had started out pretty busy, what with cheer practice for the competition, and her usual shopping spree. But right when she got home, everybody was out doing something, hanging out with somebody that she didn't like, or was working. That left her by herself, which she rarely was.

Not that she didn't like being by herself. It was nice, and Rachel could be left in her own thoughts to just think, and not have to answer to anybody. But that's where she hit a snag in the little benefits. She didn't have to answer to anybody. And maybe that was a problem.

Not answering to anybody was ultimately her and Owen's downfall.

And it was just great, as she got up from her spot on the couch to answer the ringing doorbell, that the person that was on her mind was on the other side of the door.

Sighing, she opened the door. It sucked bad enough that it had been a couple of weeks since their 'breakup,' but now she had to actually talk to him. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, an uncomfortable look on his face, probably matching hers.

It wasn't that she didn't miss him, because she did. They understood each other, way more than anyone else ever could. He understood her, she understood him, it just worked that way. She missed him a lot, but she also wished that they weren't like that. It made her think of the future and what she would inevitably be wanting down the road, and Rachel wasn't ready to face that.

"Owen," she stated, leaning against the door.

"Hey," he greeted quietly. "Is this a bad time?"

Rachel shook her head, "Uhm, no. Come on in." He stepped in, along with his own share of awkwardness.

"So," he started. "What have you been up to lately?"

Personally, Owen didn't know why the fuck he was there, nor did he know how he ended up there. He showered after the gym, and took off with the intention of going home. But no. Somehow, someway, he ended up in front of Rachel's house. He was remembering all the times where he would climb through her window in the middle of the night. Not that he really had to. He could've walked right through the front door, but Rachel had told him that it was sexier and that it was more fun, so he did it. He did everything for her.

"Nothing much, just cheer practice and school and stuff," she said vaguely. Right now, she was getting nervous. Rachel Gattina never got nervous. Come to think of it, the last time she got nervous was when Owen had proposed them going exclusive. Actually, all the times she was nervous concerned Owen one way or another. He was beating around the bush, trying to figure out what he wanted to say in what way. Rachel was the same. They were the same.

"That's cool," he stated, somewhat composed, before his face fell and he blew out a breath. "Look, I think you know why I'm here, Rach."

She sighed, "Yeah, I know." He took another deep breath. Knowing that she would probably need some stability, Rachel collapsed on the couch, her arms wrapped around herself.

"Okay," Owen began, pacing. "I know that whenever we first got together, it was just supposed to be purely physical, friends with benefits, I guess. We had an agreement, and it worked for awhile. And then it just didn't work for me anymore."

"What changed? We had this whole thing going good, Owen. Why did you have to go and ruin it?" she snapped.

"Because I realized that I didn't ruin anything. We ruined it ourselves by even thinking that we could pull it off. Because we didn't Rachel, and as much as you probably don't want to admit it, you care about me too. I just said it first."

He was right. Right on the dot, along with everything else about her.

"I know that you didn't have a good childhood, or good parents, at that. It's the same thing with me. But I want you to know that I would never, ever, hurt you, and if you would just give me a chance, I know this could work, Rach. I know it can."

Rachel sighed, "It's not you Owen. It's me. And I know it sounds really corny and pathetic to be saying it, but it is. I would by lying if I said that I didn't care about you, because I do. But I don't know if I can do this whole relationship thing. It was never what I was about, and it was never something that I saw for myself."

Owen went over to the couch and sat down beside her. This is where it got tricky for the redhead. She knew she was breaking the minute she saw him in front of her door. Rachel knew that she was being stupid, but in her mind, it was an act of protecting herself.

"Do you think I saw this for myself? I spent most of my life alone and high on coccaine. I never knew my father, and my mom was a cokehead, and the last thing that I saw for myself was actually caring about someone. Truly caring."

"I just don't want to get hurt," she whispered. He pulled her close and held her in his arms. Owen took a deep breath, one because he was glad that he was able to to break down the walls, and because he was sure that this wouldn't be the last time he would be battling for her affection.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he promised. "I want to make this work with you."

* * *

Jake probably spent most of the time with his friends than his own family. Truthfully, he spent zero time with his family. He didn't even like being at home. All his mom did was bother him about spending more time at home, and his dad was on his ass about how he needed to get a real job and start taking care of himself. It was a constant push and pull, which resulted in Jake walking out the door most of the time. He thought it was funny how his dad would always rag him about making money, because, if he remembered correctly, he had paid the water and electric bill for the past seven months.

He hung out at Lucas and Nathan's a lot, that was for sure. He would walk straight in the door and collapse on the couch, and just chill. Owen was the same way, and Peyton came and went as she pleased, which was a lot.

Fighting, friends, and music were the three things in his life that mattered most to him, but music held one just a smidgen higher.

Jake had to win four fights back to back to back to back until he was able to afford his acoustic guitar. After that, he had spent every waking minute learning how to play, and now, two years later, Jake was certain that he was pretty good to perform or do just about anything with his music. He had already written a couple of songs and was working on his vocals, which needed immense improvement if he wanted to share his work with anybody.

Walking down the street, Jake looked like the ultimate musician. He had his guitar in it's case slung over his shoulder. It was hard to believe by just taking one glance on him that he beated faces in for a living. In truth, Jake hated it. In the end, he would always end up hating himself after. But right now, Jake needed money, lots of it. His father was a huge gambler, and the family wasn't making very much money as it was. He wasn't doing it just for himself.

There was a curly blonde sitting on her porch, head bent down. Jake wouldn't have paid any attention to it, if it wasn't Peyton Sawyer.

He didn't know what it was, but something about Peyton made him want to bug her, and annoying people was not in Jake's character. He wanted to know why she was the way she was, he wanted to know why she was such a bitch all the time. And he wanted to know why she couldn't get over his friend. It just didn't make sense to him, and seeing her pissed off was a plus.

"Do you ever get your head out of that sketchbook?" he asked curiously, standing in front of the steps. She glanced up, as always, paying him no mind.

"Do you ever mind your own business?" she shot back.

Jake chuckled, "Not really. I'll start minding my own business whenever you start answering my questions."

"Why does it matter to you?" she asked.

"It doesn't. I just want to know. I don't get how that's hard to understand."

"Stop talking to me. That's not hard to understand either, but yet you still don't listen."

"You're right. I don't," he said, sitting down on the middle step, taking out his guitar.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Peyton asked, her sketchbook completely shut and her pen down.

Jake struck a chord, "I'm sitting playing my guitar. I hope you don't mind."

"Newsflash, I do mind!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you just leave me alone."

"Because you don't want to be left alone," Jake answered simply, playing a strong but sweet riff, his fingers moving professionally through the chords, his other hand moving easily through the fretboard.

Peyton glared at him, "What are you talking about? Of course I want to be left alone."

He shook his head, still playing, "No, you don't. The reason you try telling people to leave you alone is to see if they'll actually stay. But you see, you don't fool me. I know that you're trying to do."

She scoffed, "Are you shitting me right now? Jake, all I want you to do is just leave me alone."

"I don't care what you say, Peyton. I know the truth, and it's only a matter of time before you admit it. It's cool though, I got nothing but time," he said cheerfully, continuing with his tune.

Peyton stared at him for one whole minute, wondering who the hell this guy thought he was. It was bad enough that she got taunted by her so called friends and just about everybody else at school, but now Lucas' little friend Jake Jagielski was getting on her nerves more than anyone. But it was obvious that he wasn't going to leave, noted by the fact that he seemed very comfortable sitting on her front porch steps. Sighing frustratingly, Peyton picked up her pen and sketchbook, and put her headphones back in her ears and turned on her iPod.

Jake glanced back at her, smiling to himself, starting in with another song that he had written.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me," Lucas said to himself.

After talking with Nathan, he treated himself to Starbucks. He had sat in the cafe, typing away on his laptop.

Yes, along with everything else, Lucas was a writer. It took him four fights in a row to earn enough money to his himself a laptop. He didn't know why, but writing just got to him. With all the things going on in his life, why wouldn't he have something to write about. Whenever he wasn't playing basketball, at school, or fighting, he was writing about everything and anything that he wanted to.

Lucas had spent two hours at Starbucks, and for a second, he thought it was the coffee that was messing with his vision, because there was no way in hell that Jake would be anywhere near Peyton, let alone with her.

Unfortunately, Lucas had to drive past Peyton's house whenever he wanted to get home, and apart of him was glad he had, because he was pretty sure his buddy Jake would never have mentioned this to him later on.

He tried not to be too noticeable, driving at regular speed, not slowing down to look more closely. But he knew what he saw. Jake was just sitting on the front steps, playing, while Peyton sat on the wicker couch they had next to the front door, sketching away like always. She looked up and stared at him weirdly, but Jake paid her no mind.

Lucas had two questions on his mind. One, why was Jake hanging out with Peyton. And two, why was Peyton actually okay with it?

He was stuck in a sort of trance as he pulled into his driveway. Owen's car was parked on the side, alone with Rachel's Denali. It was safe to say that Owen lived there. Sure, he had the nice apartment that he was paying rent for, but he was alone. So Lucas and Nathan had no problem opening their front door for him to come and crash at whenever he wanted to. The only downside was that Rachel was around the house quite a bit.

Owen was sitting on the couch when he got in, watching a football game on ESPN. He looked up, "What's up, man?"

"Nothing much," Lucas said wearily, looking around. "So I'm guessing you and Rachel have made up?"

"Yeah," Owen said, wearing a goofy grin on his face. "We're officially dating now."

Lucas chuckled, "That's awesome, O. I hope it works out. Speaking of, where is Rachel?"

"In the shower. Me and her went to the gym earlier today and worked out," Owen explained.

"A girlfriend that will go to the gym with you. She's a keeper."

"I know," Owen answered matter-of-factly. "So what are you doing home? Run out of things to do?"

He shrugged, "You could say that. Say, how long have you been home anyway?"

"About an hour or so. Why?"

Lucas sighed, "I was wondering if you saw Jake at Peyton's house."

Owen stared at Lucas, "Jake, at Peyton's house? Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. I was driving down the road and passed her house, and I see Jake sitting on the front steps playing his guitar with Peyton out there with him too. It was really weird, man. I didn't even know they were friends or something."

"I didn't know that either," Owen said, mulling it over. "I guess this is where it gets tricky, huh?"

"I don't know. I still think I should talk to him first though, it might just be nothing."

"Yeah, well if Jake's hanging around Peyton because he wants to, I wouldn't consider that nothing," he said.

"Whatever. I'll deal with it later," Lucas said.

Owen nodded, "Sounds like a plan. So did Nate ever find Haley today?"

"Yeah, he actually found her just as I met to tell him that Brooke hadn't heard from Haley. It was like perfect timing," Lucas explained, wondering if maybe he should bring this up. If anybody could see it, maybe Owen could. "Hey, do you think you could ever see Haley and Nathan, like, together?"

Owen looked at him, "You mean like, dating?" Lucas nodded. He shrugged, "I don't know, I never really thought about it. We were all just friends with Haley, you know?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. But Brooke mentioned it to me earlier, and the more I think about it, the more it kind of makes sense."

He smirked, "You would believe anything Brooke told you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked.

"You know what I'm talking about. If Brooke told you that chickens made pig noises, you would probably believe her."

He shook his head, "I probably wouldn't go that extreme. I mean, she is right, though. Me and Nate are twins, and you and him have been good friends for awhile, and Haley's always been our friend also, so it's kind of hard to picture that. But Brooke, who just moved here, can already see something with those two. I'm just saying that she's the one that actually made the connection in my head."

"Alright, alright, I get it. So, moving on from Nathan and Haley, what's going on with you and Brooke?" he asked hurriedly.

"We're friends. That's it," Lucas stated.

Owen chuckled, "Okay, Luke. Now get real with me. What's going on?"

"How hard is it to comprehend that me and Brooke are just friends?"

"It's hard, because before we beat the crap out of Felix at Rachel's house, you guys couldn't take your eyes off of each other. You can't tell me that right now, all you feel for her is just friendship."

"Owen, we just started becoming friends again. I'm not about to screw that up thinking about me and her being more than that," Lucas said.

"Alright, fine, we'll leave it at that," Owen said, holding his hands up. "But you know I'm right."

Lucas wasn't sure if he could disagree with him.


	10. Rip Me A New One

**Author's Note: **So sorry for that lack of update in awhile, mainly because I've been really busy at school and actually having a life lol. This is the only time I have to update and head back to doing some homework. I had this chapter done for awhile, I just had to tweek it a little bit and make it better than the original draft. Once again, a little bit of everyone in this chapter, along with some drama between two good friends, but you're gonna have to read on for yourself. Enjoy & Review !

* * *

**Chapter 10; Rip Me A New One.**

It had been a week since Nathan and Haley had re-established themselves as friends, a week since Owen and Rachel were officially dating, and a week since Lucas had caught Jake and Peyton, hanging out, together. A lot of things had changed in the past week, a lot of situations had been reversed completely, and Lucas was having a hard time grasping it all. In fact, it confused him even more.

The whole week Lucas had lingered discreetly at school, watching everybody. More closely he was watching Jake and Peyton, trying to find any evidence that they really were more than just insult buddies. But so far he didn't see anything. It was like what he had seen last weekend didn't exist. A figment if his imagination.

Mornings were usually really slow and mellow, partly because he made it his mission to smoke a joint before driving into campus everyday. It was no secret that Lucas was a big smoker. He had smoked basically anything and everything, but weed was something that seriously calmed him down, and Lucas was a very uptight person, all the time. Yeah, it was bad for him, but what with his training schedule, there was no way he could lag.

His brother and the rest of the guys smoked also, but no one smoked as much as Lucas did. Jake had his music to calm him down, Owen had the gym, where he punched and pushed it all out until there was nothing left of him. And Nathan, well, Nathan had his sanity, which was more than Lucas had. Lucas had nothing that calmed him down like a nice joint. He couldn't play an instrument to save his life, and working out just made him even more wired.

Nathan also had basketball, and his twin's bond was way stronger with the sport than Lucas' had ever been. Or so he thought, he never stuck around long enough on the court to find out. He played on the basketball team, and he was pretty good, but once the game was over, he was off that court without a second thought. He remembered a time where he did like playing, genuinely loved it and there was this peace that he felt when he had a ball in his hands. That feeling was gone.

Popping some chewing gum in his mouth, he opened up his locker, glancing to the side. Peyton was at her locker as well, only a couple away, listening to her iPod while stuffing books into her bag for the day. It had been awhile since he had spoken with Peyton, and for the first time in awhile, he actually wanted to talk to her. But he wasn't looking for polite conversation, or even to ask if she wanted to meet him in the janitor's closet in five minutes.

Slamming his locker shut, he readjusted the shoulder strap on his bag and walked carefully towards Peyton, as if she would see him and bite his head off, which was a very big possibility. Taking a deep breath, he stopped right in front of her. She glanced at him before pulling the headphones out of her ears.

"Hey Peyt," Lucas greeted, nodding.

Her eyes narrowed at his greeting, just as confused at this picture as he was, "Luke? What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here," he smirked.

Peyton rolled her eyes, "You know what I'm talking about. Why are you talking to me?"

It was hard to believe that the two blondes had actually dated. It wasn't realistic to everybody that thought of it now but it made perfect sense back then. Lucas and Peyton were basically the same person split into two bodies. Nathan had joked about how Lucas and Peyton were the ones that were twins, not Lucas and himself. It seemed like the perfect match. Key word: seemed.

Lucas sighed, "Look, I know this is a little weird," he gestured to the space between them, "But there's a question that I need you to answer, and you need to tell the truth." After they broke up and just started hooking up, Lucas had lost his politeness for her, and she had lost her kindness for him, almost completely. The only time she was ever nice to him these days was whenever she was trying to come onto him.

"Why should I tell you anything truthfully anymore? You obviously haven't been truthful with me for a long time."

"Peyton, are we really going to get into this? I would really love to pick apart our whole relationship, but we're running on a schedule. You see, the bell's about to ring for first period in about two minutes. So are you gonna let me ask you my question or not?"

She rolled her eyes, "You can ask me the question, but it doesn't mean I'll answer you." Ever since their little breakup, of a relationship and hook up buddies, Peyton had made it her mission to give Lucas no satisfaction, in all areas.

"Is there something going on between you and Jake?" he asked, point-blank.

Peyton stared at him for a moment, as if she was thinking of her answer. Suddenly the bell ring, and her plan to completely annoy Lucas to no end was starting to work. "Oh look, there's the bell. No time to answer that question, not that it's any of your business."

Lucas grinded his teeth. There was no other person on the face of the planet that pissed him off as much as Peyton Sawyer did. But he wasn't going to give up on this. He needed the answer and he needed it from her. "Peyton, I need to know the truth, and I know you're the only one that give me the honest answer."

"Alright fine," she shrugged, "I'll talk to you about it later though. I don't have time to talk to you about it now unless I wanna be late for class."

"That would be a shame," he mumbled. "How about we meet at my mom's cafe after school?"

"Fine," she snapped before disappearing down the hallway.

Sighing, Lucas turned around to head to his own class. He was constantly asking himself, 'Why Peyton?' That seemed to be the question. Why not Jake? Lucas knew the answer, he just didn't want to admit that it was because he didn't trust his own friend.

Lucas did trust Jake, to a certain extent. He knew that if he asked Jake, he would lie to him, because he didn't want to bug his best friend. As much as he didn't want to talk to Peyton at all, she was a not bullshit person, and would tell it like it is.

He came into English class just as the bell rang, and ironically, he had the class with just about everybody. No one really paid him any mind, except for his brother. Nathan's eyebrow quirked up questioningly, his eyes following him suspiciously as he sat down in his seat in front of him.

He leaned forward. "What the hell is going on?" he hissed accusingly.

The two twins had heard of the whole 'twin senses' thing, the one where you're supposed to know exactly what each other was thinking, at all times. Lucas and Nathan knew when the other was up to something, and knew whenever they were needed of assistance, no matter what it was. But it wasn't like Nathan knew right down to the very 't' what Lucas was up to.

Lucas glanced back, "I'm getting to the bottom of something. That's all I can tell you right now." He faced the front of the class, trying to pay attention, but his mind kept on wandering to the weekend. Brooke sat next to him, kind of taking notes and kind of staring out the window aimlessly. Feeling humorous, Lucas continued to stare at her, not caring if it seemed kind of creepy. If there was one thing that could get his mind off of Jake and Peyton, it was definitely Brooke Davis.

It took her a good thirty seconds before her eyes met his. He continued staring at her as she let her eyes rest back onto her notebook. But she looked back up at him to see if he was really staring at her. Her eyebrow quirked in that sexy was that it did. Lucas smirked, and she shook her head and chuckled quietly. For two people that were supposed to be friends, he was having a hard time looking away from her.

* * *

'When the hell am I ever going to need to know this bullshit?' Rachel thought to herself as she sat in the middle of Mrs. Kwan's English Literature class. She absolutely hated this class, and was very close to failing it, if it wasn't for the nerds that did her homework for her.

Rachel aspired to be an actress/model, not a writer. As far as she was concerned, this was a pointless class to even take, along with every other subject that she had this year. She just couldn't wait until graduation, where she could throw her cap up in the air, say 'fuck you' to all her teachers, and walk out.

So far this relationship that she had formed with Owen over the past weekend had been working out pretty good. It only took her the second day to realize that there wasn't much difference between her friends with benefits with Owen and an official relationship with Owen. They did all the same thing, and then some. Maybe being exclusive wasn't so bad afterall.

Wanting to rip her ears out from listening to Mrs. Kwan talk about E.E Cummings, she turned her attention to Brooke, who happened to be making ga-ga eyes at Lucas, who was reciprocating. This 'just friends' bullshit wasn't cutting it to Rachel. But it also didn't help that she had seen Lucas and Peyton talking very secretly just before the bell rang for first period.

Rachel wasn't that much of an idiot. She had been in Tree Hill for years and knew Lucas way before Brooke came to town. It was common knowledge that Lucas was a player, they all were. Nathan got the girls with that crooked smirk, Jake with his voice and guitar skills, and Owen with his muscles.

But Lucas, it wasn't just a physical appeal that most girls fell for, although that played a part. It was an emotional connection too. Maybe it was those baby blue eyes that drew them all in, but everytime they got shot down and spent weeks crying over a guy that obviously didn't care about them. And just because he was friends with Brooke, that wasn't going to change the womanizer in him.

Relieved at the bell ringing, she grabbed her bag and met Owen at the threshold. She would never admit it to any living soul on the earth, but the idea of having a boyfriend kind of sent Rachel into a whirlwind of giggles and butterflies.

"Where's your head at, Raye?" Owen asked, nudging her a little in the arm.

She shook her head, "Nothing..." she trailed, before sighing. "Is it just me, or is Brooke and Lucas getting flirtier by the day?"

Owen shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't been paying attention, but I guess they're friendlier than usual."

"They were staring at each other all through English," Rachel explained. "Do you think there's something going on with those two?"

He smirked, "Oh I know there is. There's no doubt about that."

"It's too bad though, I saw Lucas talking to Peyton this morning too," she informed him, fiddling with her combination lock.

"Luke was probably just asking Peyton if there was something going on between her and Jake."

"Wait, what??" she demanded. "Peyton and Jake? Where did he get that idea?"

"Lucas was driving home last weekend and saw Peyton and Jake sitting on her front porch. I guess he's got it in her head that they have a thing for each other."

"Huh," Rachel said, shutting her locker. "Do you think there IS something going on?"

"It's hard to tell, but I do know that Lucas isn't gonna let this thing go."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Seriously, what the hell does Lucas care? Him and Peyton have been over for God knows how long."

"Yeah I know. He just doesn't want Peyton and Jake getting involved. You know how Peyton is," Owen said knowingly.

"Yes I do have an idea of what a conniving bitch she can be."

"Why don't you stop worrying about that and just let me walk you to class?" Owen suggested.

She shrugged, "Well, I guess I can let it go, for now."

With a quick kiss from her boyfriend, Rachel slipped into Anatomy class, the one of the very many classes she had with Haley. Rachel was kind of a nerd at her other school, which led for her to be in a lot of challenging courses when she transferred, which she chose to ignore at the pinnacle of her high school career.

Haley was already sitting in her seat, reviewing last night's homework with her book already open, being the geek that she was. Excited, Rachel popped into her assigned seat next to her, pulling out her homework too, which she actually did by herself.

Haley glanced at Rachel, "What's with your peppiness this morning as opposed to your 'I don't give a shit' front you have everyday?"

"Well there's the fact that I have some gossip to share with you, or the fact that I have the hottest boyfriend in school. Either one could be your answer."

She smirked knowingly, "So how is the exclusive life treating you?"

"Good. But you never guess what I just heard?" she asked.

"What ever is it that you heard that's so important, Rachel?" Haley asked sarcastically.

"Apparently there's something going on between Jake and Peyton," Rachel stated confidentally.

She closed her book, "Wait, what?"

"Exactly, I'm kind of lost there too. But Owen just told me that Lucas was driving home and saw Jake and Peyton hanging out on her front porch. How fucked up is that?"

"What's so fucked up about it? They're not doing anything wrong."

"Not necessarily, but it's more twisted than fucked up. Which explained why Lucas was talking to Peyton this morning."

"Well whatever it is that's going on with them, why is everyone concerned? I mean, Lucas and Peyton had been done for a long time, why does he need to get into their business?" Haley asked.

"Maybe Lucas isn't getting into their business, maybe he just wants to know, like me," she shrugged.

"That's getting into their business, genius," Haley said, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever, this is big. Luke will definitely be pissed if Jake and Peyton are into each other."

"Why? They're not together, they're not even hooking up anymore."

"Yeah, but you know Lucas. Plus, if I were him, I wouldn't want my bitch of an ex-girlfriend hanging around any of my buddies," Rachel stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay Rachel," Haley said, tired of gossiping about Jake, Peyton, and Lucas. "So, how's Owen?"

"He's, great," Rachel grinned. "I never thought a relationship could be so, cool. It kind of works for me."

"That's good. Now aren't you glad you gave Owen a chance?" Haley asked.

"More than glad."

* * *

Physical Education was by far Nathan's favorite class, partly because he was acing it with flying colors, which was less than he could say for the rest of his grades. He was relieved that Haley had decided to forgive him, because not only did he have his good friends back, but he had his miracle worker of a tutor.

Since the Ravens were a pretty good basketball team, Coach Durham had made it his business to include basketball all year around as their sport. For the people like Nathan, who was serious about basketball, it was a good time to get a good practice in. Everyone else, like the girls and the uncoordinated people, sat on the bleachers, talking about the latest computer software or trading fashion tips.

Brooke was among one of those people. She was sitting with these two cheerleaders, Theresa and Bevin, probably talking about something pointless. Bevin was an airhead and all Theresa talked about was herself. He would know, they used to be hook-up buddies.

Now Nathan wasn't exactly sure what the deal was, mainly because his twin brother had failed to fill him in, but there was definitely a sense of attraction that he felt between his brother and Brooke Davis. He wasn't surprised, Brooke was definitely a gorgeous girl, probably the hottest one in school. If it wasn't for the fact that she and his brother already had something going, Nathan wouldn't have had a second thought in asking her out.

It was already more than halfway through class and Nathan was getting tired of showing up all the other guys. It was one thing to be good at basketball, and it was another to be better than everybody else. They had a game coming up on Friday night, and Nathan was looking into breaking the school record. If only he actually had some competition out on the court.

His brother Lucas had made it his mission to avoid the sport unless he actually had to. Things had been that way since their father died, and basketball just wasn't the same for his twin. The only reason Lucas played in the first place is because Nathan would never let him quit it completely.

It felt good to play basketball with nothing on his mind. Haley had forgiven him, and now all he had to look forward to is the next game, the next fight, and the sets of drama that would ensue later in the week, especially since he had heard that rumor that something was going on between Peytn and Jake. It was a weird thought, but Nathan wouldn't put anything past anybody with the crazy shit that has happened the past couple of weeks.

Looking behind him, Brooke was over at the water fountain. Smirking, Nathan tucked the basketball under his arm, strolling toward her. No, he wasn't going to hit on her, he was just gonna ask her some questions, questions that he had been wondering for awhile now.

"Hey, Davis," he greeted.

Brooke smiled, "Hey Nate, what's up?"

"Nothing, just playing ball. Why are you at the water fountain? You haven't done shit since you walked out of the locker room."

"Haha, ass," Brooke said sarcastically. "And it takes a lot of effort to look this good, so I've done my fair share of activity."

"Alright, fair enough," Nathan said. If there was one thing he liked about Brooke Davis, it was how much she reminded him of himself. Seriously, they both had insanely good looks, knew they were good looking, and had no problem voicing it out. And he was pretty sure she could throw a mean punch as well.

"Okay, if it's about the whole Jake and Peyton thing, I'm just as clueless as you are," she said, throwing her hands up.

Nathan chuckled, "Well that is a pretty interesting topic around school today, but that's not exactly the couple I'm talking about."

"Ohhh," she droaned, "You're talking about you and Haley. Nathan, if you wanted advice then all you had to do was say so..."

If there was one person in this world he had to trust, it was Lucas. But if there was one girl in this world, it would definitely be Haley. He didn't know what people meant by 'you guys are cute' or 'you guys would make a great couple' because all him and Haley had ever been were friends. Good friends in grade school but then they kind of drifted away at the start of high school. But when you reach closer to graduating, you don't really care about who you talk to, and Nathan wanted a good friend other than the guys.

He was having a hard time visualing it, Nathan and Haley, exclusive, dating, together, etc. Everyone else had been able to see it, but himself.

"No Brooke, me and Haley are friends, which is less than I can say for you and Lucas," he smirked.

"Nathan, me and Lucas are friends too, just like you and Haley," Brooke corrected him.

"See that's the thing, I don't think so," he shrugged. "You guys totally like each other, I can tell."

"What makes you think that I like him?"

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Oh I don't know, maybe it was the fact that you were staring at each other all throughout English, and the fact that he listens to everything and anything that you say, and whenever he needs something he goes to you."

"That's because we're friends, friends do that for each other."

"Yeah, but you can't say that you weren't interested in him when you first got here."

Brooke sighed, "Okay Nate, you're right. When I first moved here, I was attracted to Lucas, it's not a secret. But we decided that it would be best to just be friends. Plus, I don't want to get involved in this whole Pucas bullshit."

"Puc- what?" Nathan exclaimed.

"You know, Peyton/Lucas, Pucas," she shrugged.

"Brooke, they broke up like, years ago," Nathan said bluntly.

"Of course, but you of all people should know she keeps on coming back."

"She's a bee, I know. But think about it, if this whole Peyton/Jake thing turns out to be true, Lucas can finally get rid of her. There's no other girl anymore."

Brooke chuckled, "Nathan, it's cute that you're trying to play match-maker with your brother and me, but it's not happening."

Whitey had blew his whistle, signaling the end of class. Briskly Brooke walked away, heading towards the girl's locker rooms. It seemed like Brooke was even more stubborn then Lucas, and that was saying something. But he wouldn't worry too much about it, everything would happen sooner or later.

* * *

By the time lunch rolled around, Lucas was on the verge of ripping his hair out. Everywhere he went, people looked at him in question, like they were just wondering what he was going to do next, which in turn made him even more desiring to do something. He had a reputation for blowing his top at any given moment, and with the shitty day he had been having, that was bound to happen sooner or later.

He sat at the usual spot at the end of the quad, near all the trees and such. None of the guys had shown up yet, so he made himself at home with the plastic chairs. His lunch consisted of two double cheeseburgers and extra fries, since he was so cute and charming with the lunch ladies. Taking a sip of his Coke from the tall styrofoam cup, his eyes wandered around the different tables.

Brooke, Haley, and Rachel were sitting at the one directly across from them, although it was kind of far away. They had been a threesome since Brooke's arrival, and Lucas knew that the girls would remain a constant trio for the rest of the year, which was a good thing. They seemed to get along real well. He wished he could say the same for his own crew, but now he wasn't so sure.

It wasn't that he was pissed that Jake and Peyton were getting involved, it was that one, he didn't know about it, and two, to put it lightly, Peyton was a nutcase. She was filled head to toe in issues, which meant a lot of drama and mood swings. Jake was a pretty mellow guy, he didn't let things get to him, and all he had was his music. Although Peyton was a music junkie, Lucas didn't understand why this was happening. Being with Peyton made Lucas even more problematic in the head, and frankly being with her made him crazy and gave him issues as well. He didn't want the same thing to happen to Jake.

"What's up, man?" Owen greeted, setting down his gargantuous meal. A whopping five double cheeseburgers and two baskets of hot steaming french fries. A little freshman with terrible acne and no style was revealed behind him with a cup of soda, setting it down next to Owen's food. "Thanks, kid," Owen said, sitting down and digging in.

"Did you pay that kid to carry your drink over here?" Lucas asked.

Owen scoffed, offended, "No, why would I pay anyone to do that?"

"Wasn't like he had a choice," he smirked. When Owen approaches you and tells you to do something, Lucas was pretty sure no one asked questions or demanded any sort of fee. They just did it.

"So you hear what's been going on around school?" Owen asked innocently.

Lucas groaned, "You had to ask? Apparently me and Peyton are secretly together and Jake's trying to split us up. Seriously, where the hell do people get this shit from?"

"They get it because of what they see. You were probably talking to Peyton this morning, so people just think of stuff that doesn't make sense. I wouldn't worry about it though, it'll all blow over by tomorrow."

"I was talking to Peyton this morning, but it was about her and Jake!" he exclaimed. "On no level, do I want to get back with Peyton."

"You don't have to tell me that," Owen said, looking around. "Where is Jake, anyway?"

"I don't know, probably didn't want to come to lunch since he heard that I wanted to kick his ass," Lucas stated. "I swear, once I find out who's starting these rumors I'm gonna beat them to a bloody pulp."

"Well before it comes to that, maybe you should find out from Peyton, or Jake," Nathan suggested. Lucas tended to over-analyze just about everything, always thinking about something, always worrying. Nathan was there to calm him down. Nathan didn't really care about anything. It just took too much energy.

"No way in hell am I getting my answer from Jake. He wouldn't tell me the straight up truth. I'm meeting Peyton at Ma's Cafe today after school to talk about it," Lucas explained, taking a sip of his Coke.

"You're meeting Peyton after school? God, she must have been loving that," Owen chuckled.

"Not really. We're pretty sick of each other as of right now. She was ecstatic to get away from me."

"Okayy," Nathan trailed. "So I got a text from Cooper last period. He says he wants to meet with all four of us tomorrow at the Pit."

"Sounds good, we have an electricity bill coming up, and what with all the people that have been in and out the past month, it's gonna be high," Luca said. Just thinking about the bills gave him a migraine. There were so many numbers involved, and it was hard to take care of it all just with his brother. Sometimes he hated his mother in times like these. Sure, she sent them a check for the bills, but it wasn't enough, and Lucas didn't have the heart to tell her it wasn't.

"You know we can pitch in if the bill's too high. We practically live there," Owen said.

Nathan shook his head, "No way man, you have your little sister to think about. Don't worry about us. All we have to do is win like two fights, and we're good. Right Luke?" The blonde stared at his brother, nodding silently, but wishing that they could have some help with the bills.

"Anyways," he started. "I'm still pissed as hell that you got that fight with Felix, Nate."

"It wasn't a big deal. The guy's a pussy anyway. You didn't miss anything," Nathan said.

"That's not the point, though. I can't stand that guy on so many levels. He's tried to cause trouble for me ever since his ass landed here."

"Yeah well if you're extra nice to Cooper, he might just give you that match," Owen said.

"I don't think I could ever be extra nice to that man," Lucas said. It had been quite awhile since he had been back on the mat, and apart of him kind of missed it. He knew that the other guys probably couldn't say the same thing, because they weren't going through what he went through. Not even his own brother could ever understand. It was a sick thing to love beating the shit out of somebody, but he couldn't help it. It felt damn good, too.

-

She was really running out of places to go in this damn prison they called a school.

Their friendship was kind of on the outs and for the first time in quite a long time she couldn't really stand Lucas. So that meant that sitting in a court yard filled with people that either didn't like her or wasn't talking to her didn't sound like a way to spend her period.

Wandering the halls, this was when Peyton liked the school best. When it wasn't infested with nerds and sluts and assholes. It was a pretty decent place to do some thinking, maybe just want time by yourself. That didn't come around often, but for Peyton she had been getting more time on her hands lately.

Peyton wasn't always like this. No, there was once a time when she wasn't a bitter person. A time where she was actually happy sometimes, and even smiled. Right now she would give anything to have those times back. Maybe that was why she couldn't let Lucas go.

She'd tried time and time in her head to find the reason why she couldn't let go of him, but she couldn't find an answer. Lucas was like a drug to her. She wanted him all the time, no matter how bad he treated her sometimes. She knew he didn't mean to be a jerk, but Peyton just couldn't get over him. She wanted to, she really did, but whenever she thought about it, she couldn't because she was still so in love with him.

Or maybe she was in love with what they used to be, before things got so complicated that it diminished their whole relationship. The connection was there, and it probably would always be, but Lucas didn't love her like that, and what with the weird stalker persona she had inhabited, she wouldn't love herself either.

Jake Jagielski wasn't someone who struck her as annoying. He liked music, and secretly she respected him for that. Music was Peyton's outlet out of life, to just move along with the lyrics, completely turning her brain off to anything and anyone. He was a pretty good guitar player, also. He was a charmer, but never a complete asshole like the other guys were with girls. Jake was actually kind of sweet from what she had seen from the background.

Which was why she was completely confused and irritated when he never left her alone. Peyton was all about having her space, having time to herself to just do what she wanted, not having to talk or answer to anybody. Jake never let her have that time as long as he was around, and lately he'd been around quite a lot.

But he did have one thing right. She didn't like being left alone, because that meant she really did have nobody in the world. Jake had seen right through that, and understood it, although he did act in a ridiculous way.

In a way she felt bad because now Jake was getting the crap for hanging out with her. She knew that Lucas didn't like it one bit, which meant that Nathan and Owen wouldn't, which meant that Jake would be forbidden to even speak her name ever again. Lucas always had the last word.

He was standing at his locker, emptying out the morning's books for the afternoon's. She hadn't seen him around that much at school, and she kind of felt bad for that. Jake was probably nervous as hell what with all the rumors that had been going on. In Art class she heard that Lucas wanted to beat Jake's ass in the next fight night at the Pit. Peyton knew it wasn't true personally, but you never knew.

"Hey, I heard we're lovers," Peyton called out down the hallway. Her reputation had already been sent to crap this year, so she couldn't take this whole rumor mill seriously.

He glanced at her, returning to what he was doing, "Yeah, I heard something about that."

She could tell that this day had bothered him on some level, hearing all the horrible things said about him. "Okay, I don't normally do this, because I'm not a nice person, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Lucas doesn't want to beat your ass."

"I know he doesn't," he shook his head. "He doesn't trust me, and that's what pisses me off."

"You don't know that..."

"Actually I do, because if my friend did trust me, he would've confronted me about it today. I've had three classes with him, and he has yet to say one fucking word to me. And you're meeting him later to talk about it, so it looks like he'll take your word above mine."

"Jake, I'm going to tell him that there's nothing going on. You don't have to worry about that."

"That's not the point," Jake mumbled. "I know there's nothing going on, you know there's not."

"Are you going to tell me why you've been talking to me a lot lately?" This had been on her mind for quite some time now, but she never actually got a change to ask him. Either she was too thoughtful on why he was talking to her or she was so pissed that he was bothering her it never came to her mind in the moment.

"Uhm, I don't know," Jake shrugged. "You look funny when you're pissed off. There's nothing else to it."

"So that shit about how you know I want people around was just some ploy?" she asked. It kind of pissed her off. It just went to show her that all guys were the same. They always say things they don't mean.

He shook his head. "No, I wasn't just talking out of my ass, Peyton. I truly do believe that. But I'm not looking to ruin your life or embarass you like you thought."

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the case. He did mean it. "For the record, I hope you and Lucas are cool."

It was as if perfect timing was running a little early, because right when she said that, the one they were both thinking about turned the corner. Jake could tell Lucas was looking for him, like they had something to settle. Oh, they did alright, but not in a brawl, or so he thought.

"Peyton," Lucas said, standing not four feet away from them. "Would you mind if me and Jake talked?" he asked, more of a demand than a question. Hostility was in the air, and she sure as hell didn't want to be involved if things got out of hand.

"Uhm, sure. See you guys later," Peyton said, walking away. Maybe her and Lucas weren't meeting later afterall.

'Whoop-dee-fucking-doo,' Lucas thought. He was in an empty hallway with his friend, who up until about a week ago, he trusted completely. But now he wasn't so sure. He hated to say it, but he couldn't shake the uneasiness in his stomach.

"Hey," Jake nodded, shutting his locker. "So you finally tracked me down."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked.

"You know what I'm talking about, Luke. I've known you far too long for you to play that bullshit with me. So go ahead, ask me what you need to ask me."

Lucas stared him down, "Look Jake, I don't want it to get this way. But I've been hearing all this shit..."

"Yeah, that's right, you've been hearing shit. We've all been hearing it. But I expected you, one of my best friends, to at least come to me and talk to me straight up, man. But I see it now though, you don't trust me worth a shit."

"I don't trust your ability to tell me the ugly truth. J, you're all about being optimistic and always trying to sugarcoat everything. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. But, I don't want sugarcoating this time. I need to know what's really going on."

"What's going on," Jake recited. "What do you think that means exactly?"

"Well, are you screwing her??" Lucas asked, suddenly feeling very awkward talking about his ex-girlfriend like that.

"It sucks that you even have to ask that," Jake said. "But no, we're not screwing."

"Then why the hell are you always hanging around her?" he demanded.

Jake chuckled, "Do you think I talk to Peyton just because I like getting my head chewed off? Get real Luke, you know Peyton hates talking to anyone else that isn't you, and seeing her pissed off is pretty fucking funny."

"So that's it? You talk to her just to piss her off? Why? She doesn't even like you."

"She doesn't have to like me, and I don't have to like her. But I can mess with her every now and then, and that's about the only thing I'm guilty of."

"Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" Lucas asked. "Why couldn't you just tell me--"

"And have you not believe me?" Jake interrupted. "You've been running all around school today, listening to what people were saying. Hell, you even wanted to meet with Peyton, and hear what she had to say instead of what I had to say. You don't fucking trust me, because if you did, I would be the first person you went to."

* * *

So maybe schools in North Carolina were a tad bit harder than what Brooke had originally thought. After all, the California school system was a freaking joke. It was a surprise if she even learned anything in one day. Brooke had already set up meetings with all of her teachers to see if there was some extra credit work that she could do to boost her grades up. Brooke wasn't a smarty pants by any means, but she actually wanted to do good. She was a senior after all. The days of fucking around and not doing shit were gone and replaced with studying and doing homework.

"Lucas, what are you still doing here?" she asked, startled that she wasn't the only student still on campus. What made her curious was the fact that he was sitting on the floor, leaning against a row of lockers, with a defeated look on his face. He glanced up at her before closing his eyes again.

"I'm an idiot," he stated monotonously.

Brooke raised an eyebrow, "Uhm, may I ask why?"

"I just am," he shrugged. "I let things get to my head and refused to believe my own friend."

"Ohhhhh," she trailed, sitting down next to him. "So you finally talked to Jake?"

"Yep," Lucas nodded. "And I completely made an ass out of myself. It turns out, there's nothing going on between them other than the fact that Jake likes pissing her off. That's about as far as it goes. I don't understand why I just didn't believe him in the first place."

Brooke nudged him, "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. You jumped to conclusions, so does everybody else. Jake's your best friend, I'm sure he will have no problem forgiving you and letting it go."

"I don't think it's that easy. He was really pissed that I didn't believe him. Plus, I uh, kind of said some things."

"Like what?"

"I said that I trusted him, but I didn't trust him to tell me the real truth, especially about Peyton."

"Is that what you really think though?"

"Well at the time, yeah. I didn't think that he would be truly honest with me. Like I know damn sure that he wouldn't tell me if he actually liked her like that."

She smirked, "Do you really think Jake would go there, knowing you and Peyton's history?"

"Not really," Luca sighed. "I'm such a jackass."

"You're not a jackass, you're just a little bit too wound up. You take things too seriously all the time. So what if Jake liked Peyton? I think he's smart enough to know what she's capable of, and if you were really his friend, you would support him."

He groaned, "Yeah, you're right. I guess I just got caught up with the rumors and other stuff that I didn't stop and look at the situation more clearly. Now, I feel like the biggest dousche bag on the planet. Hell, I even confronted Peyton to know what was going on. I could not reach the highest level of stupidity that I've reached right now."

"For real, you need to stop being so hard on yourself. Yeah, you made a mistake, just apologize and learn from it. And I for one, cannot believe you wanted to ask Peyton before you asked Jake what was going on."

"I know, I know. Well, I have no idea why I'm here. I fucking hate school," he chuckled, getting up and dusting off his jeans. "What are you still doing here?"

"Had a meeting with all of my teachers. My grades kind of suck, so I'm scrounging around for some extra credit," Brooke explained as they walked together outside campus and to the school parking lot.

"Doing that bad, huh?" Lucas asked. "My grades are kind of slipping too."

"Oh, not as bad at me I bet," she chuckled. "This is the first time I've actually tried to do good in school. I don't wanna screw it up."

"Yeah I understand, and if you need help, I'm pretty good in the English department. We could get together and I could help you after school or something," he offered.

"Are you sure you have time?" she asked coyly. "That schedule of yours is supposed to be getting busier and busier, or so I've heard."

"You heard right. My break is nearing to an end, and it's time to make some more money again. But don't think that I don't have time for anything. Basketball is ending soon, so I have some free time. I wouldn't be offering if I didn't want to help a friend out."

"I'll think about it. I'll see if Haley's tutor list is full."

Lucas laughed, "It might not be full but she's gonna need all the time she can get with Nathan as one of her students." They were twins, but when it came to education and school, Nathan seemed to lean away from it, more interested in sports and girls. Even though Lucas was into both those things as well, his grades seemed to take an imporance to him.

"Well if you really want to help me, who am I to turn town assistance?"

"Exactly. Well, it's been a pleasant afternoon with you, Brooke Davis," he said as they stopped in front of her car. "Thanks for talking to me though."

"Still feel like a jackass?" she asked.

He winced, "Just a little, but I feel less pathetic, and I'm ready to go talk to Jake."

"That's good. I'm glad I could help."

"Yeah, so, I'll see ya later," he said, giving a geeky wave before heading back towards his car.

Brooke put her bag in the passenger seat before turning on the ignition. She was very satisfied with her friendship with Lucas, although sometimes she wondered if what was there when they first met was still in existence.


	11. I Warned You

**I Warned You...**

It had been about a month since the last time he had stepped foot in the Pit, and it had been good to get out of that sweatshop. The even better thing about it was that he had gone a month without seeing Cooper Lee's chesire grin and his asshole persona. That had been the best thing out of all of it.

Lucas had forgotten to pack his bag in his car, so while he went back home to get it, Nathan decided that he better head out there himself and just wait for everyone else to get there, even though Owen and Jake weren't that far behind him. But then again, Nathan never really cared about speed limits.

After the whole Peyt/Lucas/Jake fiasco that had happened the day before, the whole vibe of the group was completely off, and he was pretty sure all of them just wanted to be away from each other. He hadn't spoken with Jake yet, but if he had to guess, his friend was pissed beyond belief. Personally Nathan couldn't blame him, but then again, this was Lucas they were talking about. He was paranoid, quiet, brooding, and sometimes he didn't want to know what his twin was thinking about.

He couldn't say much for Owen, who was too wrapped up his new girlfriend to even really care. He had a carefree personality, and didn't really bother with things like this. The only thing he had said was, "They'll work it out."

Maybe that was true, but it didn't make things any less awkward. Parking close to the building, Nathan could already smell the blood and sweat that was contained within the sad excuse for a building. It was hard to imagine that people actually paid to get in here and party.

Owen and Jake were already turning into the parking lot as he opened the entrance door. Hard rock music was blaring, and could he heard throughout the whole building. The Pit had the state of the art equipment thanks to Skills Taylor, who was the voice you heard on the mic every night, and the mastermind behind the giant stereo system and surround sound.

Taking the elevator up to Cooper's office, Nathan made a silent prayer, hoping that Cooper wasn't in the middle of fucking some chick right now. That had happened three times already and it was enough to make him puke his guts out until there was nothing left.

"Nate? Why the fuck is your face like that?" Cooper asked, looking at him weirdly.

"I was just praying that you wouldn't be fucking someone when I walked in," Nathan stated, dropping his bag and collapsing into the chair across from his desk.

He smirked, "Oh, you know that would totally turn you on. Right here on the desk," he said, patting it with his hand.

Nathan rolled his eyes in disgust, "Hey, I'm all for sex in exciting places, but to have to walk in on it is a different story."

"You got a point there. Where's the rest of the kiddo's?"

"Lagging a little. Jake and Owen should be heading up here about now. Luke might be a couple of minutes late."

"Hmm, that's a surprise. You all used to ride together to these little sessions. You and Lucas at least would ride together," he said distractedly, flipping through numerous envelopes.

"Yeah, well, things have gotten a little bit tense," Nathan said, not realizing it.

"Oh really?" Cooper asked, looking up. "Trouble in paradise for the twin bros?"

"First of all, it's none of your business, and second of all, it has nothing to do with me and my brother," he said, glaring.

"Alright fine, it's not you and Lucas. It's Lucas and someone else," Cooper nodded, not needing confirmation. Nathan shook his head, wondering how he could be so stupid as to bring this up. Just then Owen and Jake entered the office, both reading confused looks.

"Hey Jake, Owen. So which one of you has beef with Lucas?" he asked casually, shooting a wadded up paper ball into a wastebasket across the room. It didn't go in.

"And how is that any of your business?" Owen spat out. Owen hated Cooper more than just about anybody. It took him extra effort every second he spent in an area with Cooper not to beat him to a bloody pulp. But Cooper was his boss, and he was off limits for any kind of ass whooping.

"That's exactly what I said," Nathan added, grabbing the paper ball that had rolled next to his foot and shot it in effortlessly.

"How did he even know about that in the first place, Nate?" Jake asked pointedly.

Cooper chuckled, "Well it's obvious who it's with, right Jagielski?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, that it's with you."

"What if it was with me, huh?" Owen asked, trying to confuse Cooper Barett.

"Because if it had been with you, Big O, Blondie would've been knocked out cold by now," Cooper stated. "I think you guys really miss the fact that I know you more than just about anyone. And if I'm wrong, then I sure as hell know how you deal with conflict. And as much as you guys are friends, Owen would have to problem taking it to Lucas if he really did something to piss him off. Which leaves you, Jake."

Jake looked away quickly. Nathan could tell that his friend was beyond pissed, but he couldn't figure out why. Was it because Cooper was true? Or because his blood boiled just thinking about the ever present tension that had been wreaked on the close core group of friends.

"Alright, look, we came here to have a meeting, not to talk about other shit," Nathan stated, wishing that this interrogation with their 'boss' would just stop.

"Just trying to get to the bottom of things, boys. I'm sorry if this comes as a shock to me that the fantastic four is falling apart," Cooper said, just as Lucas appeared, gym bag in hand and a scowl on his face.

"What's going on?" he asked accusingly, glaring at his twin brother. Nathan shrugged helplessly, hoping that his brother would figure out by now that this was not his idea.

Cooper shrugged, "Oh nothing Angelface, we were just discussing you and Jag's little tiff."

"That's none of your fucking business," the blonde spat.

Owen sighed, "There's no point Luke, we already went over this with him already. Cooper, just tell us why the fuck you called me over here."

"Geez, I thought you smart ones would've figured that out by now. You're here to train and get ready for the next fight night. Although I might have to reconsider the line up that I had originially planned. Anyways, go on, beat the shit out of each other, I'll see you later," he said, dismissing them.

They filed grudgingly out of the room, rolling their eyes in the process. Lucas was about to follow them also, but something that Cooper said caught his attention only seconds later. Reaching over the desk, he grabbed Cooper's collar, almost pulling him across the desk that seperated them.

"If you even think about putting me up against Jake, I swear you will live to regret it," Lucas muttered threateningly.

It took Cooper all his strength to pull back, flattening his shirt and collar. For a second, he looked scared out of his mind. "Remember that I'm the boss, Luke. I can do whatever I like, and if you have a problem with it, you can get the hell out and find some other way to make as much money as you do here. Your choice, Angelface."

With one last glare, he scooped up his bag and made his way down to the basement, where all the fighters went to train. It took him everything he had not to rush back in there and kill the guy that made it his mission to piss Lucas off and do whatever he could think of to fuck him over in the worst possible way. Cooper Barett was a sly, clever, greedy, manipulative son of a bitch. But he was also the one that handed Lucas, his brother, and the rest of his friends the money that they desperately needed to keep up with the times, and not resort to working 3 jobs and barely making ends meet.

"Hey, you okay?" Nathan asked as Lucas descended down the stairs, where the rest of the guys were already getting started. Jake and Owen were in the corner, grappling, not paying him or his twin brother any attention.

"Sometimes I wonder what the fuck Mom was thinking," he stated, setting his bag on the sidebench, reaching for his gloves. "Like, did she really think that she could just leave barely enough money to her teenage sons and expect them not to get into trouble?"

"Maybe she wasn't thinking at all," Nathan shrugged, stuffing his socks into his shoes. "Not that I can really blame her either. She was a wreck the day dad died up until the day she left. Maybe in her heart of hearts, she didn't want to think we would do anything bad, and I sure as hell didn't think we would be doing this."

His gesture to the grimy gym made Lucas really take a look at the shithole they were now contained in. And he thought the building looked ridiculous. The only place that seemed kept up was the main floor that held all the fights and all the parties that came along after. It was apparent that Cooper had completely abandoned renovations of the places that he wouldn't step foot in for more than five minutes.

The mats that spread across the cold hard floor were fading and tearing at the ends, and it hardly gave you much cushion when you were dropped flat on your back. The punching bags on one side had been duct taped over and over to prevent the stuffing from spilling out. And the weights were quite old and rusted. Everything was old, rusted, and looked like crap. The boys had even acquired to using the bathroom outside, which was way better than using the actual bathroom located behind the moldy wooden door under the stairs.

"Was she really foolish enough to think that we would be alright with her taking off like we were nothing?" Lucas asked quietly. He could feel his own blood boiling and the heat rising within his heart, telling him to do whatever it took to get that anger out.

"She wasn't foolish Lucas. She was depressed," Nathan answered before heading off in the direction of the weights. Nathan didn't like talking about their parents, but at least he had a little piece of mind. Lucas couldn't say one negative thing about Karen or Keith without Nathan correcting him, and trying to set his thoughts right.

Taking a jab at the worn punching bag in front of him, Lucas felt like he was falling into the ever present rut that was his life. Usually a nicely rolled joint was just the kind of thing to cheer him up, if only Cooper was opposed to them doing anything that slowed them down.

"Hey do you think Keller's gonna hit the gym any time today?" Lucas called to Nathan, who shot him a suspicious look. There were only two instances where Lucas would ever want to see Chris Keller, and Nathan was pretty sure this didn't have anything to do with fighting.

"I don't know. It depends if he's fighting this week," Nathan said slowly. "And if you even think of buying shit from him again..."

"Nate, Nate, Nate. Calm down. I'm just gonna buy a dime bag or something," Lucas explained. There was really no point in hiding anything from Nathan. For one thing, they spent just about every waking minute together, and even non waking, seeing as they shared one room. And there was the ever-bonding twin thing that they had. Lucas couldn't lie without Nathan knowing so.

"Are you fucking retarded? Did you forget what Cooper said from the start? You can't get involved in any smoking or drugs."

"It's not even addictive, chill out. You wouldn't understand," Lucas muttered, seeing Owen and Jake looked at the pair from across the room.

"Lucas, everyone has their bad days. You can't run away from them."

"Whatever," Lucas said. Nathan knew that his brother wasn't going to listen to him. It was hard to find somebody that Lucas did listen to these days.

Unzipping his bag, he took out his cell phone, scrolling down his contacts until he found Chris Keller. He had beat the shit out of the twig everytime he had to fight him, but it didn't change the fact that he sold the best marijuana in town, and probably up into Charlotte also. Chris was scared of Lucas and didn't charge him nearly as much as most people, so all in all it was a good deal.

_"Lucas my man, how can Chris Keller assist you this fine day?"_

"When are you going to stop talking in third person? It's annoying. Anyway, are you scheduled to fight later this week?"

_"You mean, am I scheduled to get my ass kicked again? Then yes, I am. Cooper still hasn't let go of that joke I played on him."_

"Dude, that was six months ago."

_"I know, and I'm still paying for it. You need some plant?"_

"Just enough to get rid of some stress. Are you heading down here to the gym anytime soon."

_"You're in luck my friend, because I am on my way there now. I just got to drop off a delivery first."_

"When do you think you can get here? I've already been here for awhile, meeting with Cooper."

_"Hmm, give or take, twenty minutes at the most. I'm looking to get in and get out."_

"Alright, I'll probably still be here. I'll meet you outside in the parking lot."

_"Ohhh, the twin doesn't approve."_

"Nope, so I don't actually want a tradeoff going on right in front of him, or Jake, or Owen for that matter."

_"You got it Scott, see ya then."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Brooke, Rachel, and Haley had just finished cheer practice for the Sparkle Classic that was coming up in a couple of weeks. Everyone was tired, sore, and quite scared of what their captain was going to make them do next. Every practice there had been new moves added to the routine, testing their physical capabilities by far more than any other cheerleading captain ever.

"How the fuck is it so hard for them to do three backflips in a row? You're supposed to learn that when you're six and in gymnastics!" Rachel exclaimed as the three made their way out into the parking lot.

"Rachel, most girls join the cheerleading squad in high school because they want to be slutty and popular," Haley informed her.

"Well if that's the case, then why the hell did you join?" Brooke asked. "You're not even remotely slutty, and popularity doesn't seem to matter to you."

"Rachel made me," she said simply. "And being involved in sports activities are pretty good on a college application."

"Oh fuck this, fuck this, and fuck me," Rachel shouted. "Why is it that just when things start getting good in my life, there's always one little detail that just pisses me off, and ruins everything? I had my shit together, and not it's hitting the fan, again."

"Rachel, it's not that bad. The girl's will get the hang of the routine and then-"

"I'm not fucking talking about just the routine, although that does do a good job of pissing me off. My mom and grandmother are coming into town this weekend too, I have three tests that I have yet to study for, an essay who's topic I completely forgot, and I haven't had sex in six days."

"Wow, six days Rach," Haley said sarcastically. "It's not the end of the world if you haven't gotten laid."

"You'd be surprised. I can't wait till you get married and do it. Then you can come talk to me. Whenever I tried coming onto Owen, he would just tell me that he wasn't in the mood, or he'd be too aggravated or boring for me to even want to do it, or he'd be complaining about his bitchass friends."

"So Lucas and Jake still aren't talking?"

"Nope, and I don't know when they ever will be. And that, makes Owen unhappy, which makes him not horny, which is a problem for me. And there's only one of few ways to get rid of that."

"Ohh my gosh," Brooke exclaimed. "Please tell me you're not about to whip out a vibrator from your glove compartment!"

"Are you stupid? Of course I'm not. I don't really like masturbation anyway. There's no fun in it when you're doing it yourself," Rachel explained. "No, I have another idea. I just need to make one quick call first. Get in the car, bitches."

Haley and Brooke shared a look while Rachel got in the car, already chatting away on her cellphone. "So should I be completely scared about this?" Brooke asked.

"I'll let you know when I find that out for myself. But we might as well go with her. She might need backup for whatever plan she has going on in her psychotic mind," Haley said.

"Eh whatever. I'll go anything to avoid my parents that are flying in any minute, and I'm not really looking forward to my mother ranting about what a disappointment I am to the family, and that I need to lose weight," Brooke said.

"Whores! Are you getting in or not?" Rachel asked, rolling down her window.

"Where are we going? I have some serious homework to do," Haley said, climbing into the passenger seat while Brooke took the back.

Rachel rolled her eyes, starting her car, "Please Haley, it's not like you'll have any problem finishing it in a span of thirty minutes. For the record, I don't know where we're going exactly, I just know that I need to find Chris Keller."

"Chris Keller? Hey, isn't he one of the fighters at the Pit?" Brooke asked.

"Good observation, B. Yeah, he fights, but not well. He does all these crazy ass jobs to score some money. And even though he doesn't win that many of his fights, he gets a little cut anyway. But his main source of income is dealing marijuana to anybody and everybody."

"Wait, so we're tracking down Chris Keller so that you can get high?" Brooke asked.

"Basically," she said. "I need something to calm me down, and this is just about the only thing right now that can do the fucking job."

"You do realize that weed makes you dumb, right?" Brooke asked. "And it almost always smells like ass."

"Hmm, looks like I'm talking to a professional here," Rachel said impressively. "Yeah, I know all the shit that it does, but right now I could care less. I'm already a dumbass, so that's nothing new, and I got gum and body spray in my purse, so we're all good."

"Uhm Rachel, I'm not smoking pot with you," Haley stated.

"I didn't think you were. What do you say, Brooke?"

Brooke chuckled, "That's very polite of you Rachel, but I'm going to have to pass. I do have to go back to my house where my parents will be, and the last thing I wanna do is show up baked as a potato."

"Smart. Hey, come to think of it, my grandmother and mom are in town too."

"Good, that settles it, you're not going to get high today either," Haley said. "Now I think we should turn-"

"Oh no, goody two shoes. I'm going to get high today, and then I'm going to go home and face my botoxed mother and bitchy grandmother."

"Rachel seriously, where the hell are we going?"

"Chris said he was going to be hanging around the outskirts, making some deliveries, then he has to head over to the Pit for a training session, wherever he ends up being is where we'll meet him."

"Wait, the Pit?"

"Yep, Cooper calls their asses over there to train and stuff, just so he knows they're doing something."

"Uhm, are you missing the fact that Owen's probably over there too? You know he doesn't like you smoking pot."

"Correction, he doesn't like me smoking pot around him," Rachel said. "Plus, I'm looking to just drop in and drop out. Then we can hit the mall or walk around in Spencer's. That place is heaven for high people."

"Oh there used to be this pizza parlor in California. I swear a pothead founded it. There were paintings and pictures of all these different colors swirled together and everything was so shiny and bright."

"That's right, you used to live in California, where you can actually get away with weed."

"It wasn't as easy as it sounds. Usually when you start dealing you only get a couple of years at the latest before you get busted."

"I thought it was only for dumbasses who have no idea what they're doing?"

"It is. As hard as it is to believe, most of the dealers were stuck up rich kids that just wanted to get a kick out of doing something bad to get their parents to notice them. Only problem is, they're too stupid to realize that you can't go around the country clubs talking about a huge score someone had purchased that day."

"Well, what happens when they get caught?"

"It depends on how much money your family has." In California, life was a lot different. Sure, there were always going to be the rich kids and the poor kids, but everything in Tree Hill had been minimized to the trouble and the status system than in California.

They had spent a few minutes driving around, seeing nothing but the random bars, gas stations, and completely dry grass and weeds scattered everywhere.

"Okay, I say we just park at the Pit and wait for Chris to show up there," Haley said after awhile. She wasn't a fan of being this far out of town, and that anatomy homework was lurking around in her mind; the thoughts of a true nerd.

"Nice thinking, Hales," Rachel said, pressing on the gas, heading towards the crappy building.

* * *

It wasn't really possible to become addicted to marijuana, just addicted to the sensation and feeling that it gave you. Some people had been through enough hardships and tribulations in their life to just want to be high forever, to forget the troubles or at least have them dimmed down or floating far away from where you are.

That's what Lucas needed. He needed something to make him not care about everything he was going through. The pressure to provide for his brother and might as well his mother. The pressure to get into college and make something of himself, to make his father proud. The pressure to beat his opponent to a bloody pulp so that he could pay the mortgage for that month. And the pressure to put his friendship back together with Jake. That was just the main stuff.

He said he needed to take a bathroom break, but who was he kidding? Chris Keller was never on time for anything, and as much as Lucas scared him, Chris wasn't going to be on time, in the bathroom to give him the stash. Lucky for him, Cooper decided to step out and head over to the Blue Post, the seedy bar a couple of miles from the Pit. The Blue Post was mostly made out of truck drivers and businessmen that didn't want to be recognized by anyone while they were canoodling in the back booths of the bar with trailer trash chicks.

So he doesn't think stepping outside for a quick breathe will really do any harm. Nathan shoots him a suspicious look as Lucas walks up the creaky staircase. He knows that his brother spots him, but he doesn't bother looking back to try to explain. He's a man on a mission.

There was a cool breeze that hung in the air. It felt good on his skin, which was glistened with sweat. Training was no joke, and Cooper made sure they literally worked their asses into the ground. He was starting to get more pissed off with every second that he sat on the hard concrete ground. He had gotten off the phone with Chris nearly twenty five minutes ago, and he couldn't even see his sorry excuse for a car over the horizon.

But he did happen to see a very sleek, very familiar black SUV...

As he drew closer and closer, Lucas knew it was the Denali of Rachel Gatina. It was her trademark, and he had to admit that it was a nice car. It was good enough to make her look sexy in it, but the boss on the road, and he didn't think Rachel would rather have it any other way.

The only question is, why was she driving around here? The car slowed down before pulling into the Pit parking lot. Now he was getting even more confused. What the hell were they doing here?

Rachel cruised past him and rolled down her window, "Hey Scott, what are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I'm actually waiting for fucking Keller to get here. He's running late."

"Really? What a coincidence! We're here waiting for Chris too. We tried tracking him down, but since he's got to come here anyway, we just decided to wait here. I know, aren't I just full of good ideas?"

"Hey, that was totally my idea!" a voice said from the passenger seat.

Lucas tilted his head, "Hey Hales. So I'm guessing we're waiting for the same thing?"

"You know it. Only, please don't mention anything about it to Owen. I don't want him blowing his shit again," Rachel begged. On second thought, she didn't even want her boyfriend knowing that she was even here. The less he knew, the better.

Lucas sighed. Besides the fact that Jake was mad at him, he was catching the feeling the Owen wasn't too chummy with him either. Keeping this from him would ultimately be the final straw, and Owen would be against him completely as well. And being against him was asking for a beating.

"I don't know Rachel..."

"Luke, please? Just don't mention seeing me here, and that'll be that," she said.

"Alright," Lucas finally agreed, just as an old Ford van pulled into the parking lot, loud rock music blaring from the mediocre speakers. A screeching guitar riff was just starting when it parked close to where Rachel had stopped her car.

"Let's go, bitches," Rachel said, turning her car off and stepping out. Haley followed from the other side, and the back seat door opened to reveal Brooke. Lucas blinked. He hadn't even noticed that Brooke was even in the car, due to Rachel's heavy tinting.

"Brooke, hey," Lucas greeted. "Sorry, I had no idea you were even in there."

She chuckled, "It's okay. Somehow I ended up getting dragged along into this."

"Well Rachel can be a stress ball when she wants to be," Lucas said, talking about her mission to score weed from the self proclaimed 'rockstar.'

"I can agree with that. I don't even think sex could help her at this point," Brooke said. Chris emerged from his van, smoke and all. From what most people saw of him, he had only two things going for him. His voice, and his hair.

Just one verse and the strum of his guitar and he could drop panties like no other, and his hair was fabulous in a messy, rockstar kind of way. But other than that, he was a scumbag that liked to think that he was a badass fighter like Lucas and all the other guys. Very seldom was he successful, but you couldn't keep the guy down. Chris was unfazable, and you had to give him credit for that.

"Looks like we got a party going on here," he said, arms wide open like he was welcoming his best of friends.

"It'll be an even better party when we've gotten what we're here for," Rachel said, arms folded, tapping her foot.

"Red, that's no way to talk to your supplier, especially if you're supplier's Chris Keller." Brooke couldn't help but giggle at this guy. He was the first person she's ever head talk in third person. Speak like that too much, and it was bound to annnoy everybody.

"Can we stop with the small talk? I have to get back," Lucas said, suddenly growing nervous. What if Cooper happened to pull into the parking lot right now, or if Owen happened step out to look for him?

"You got the cash? I got the stash."

Lucas and Rachel both pulled out a wad of money each, wrapped expertly around a rubber band. Chris then tossed them each a big baggie filled with the luscious green that had a way of making you forget anything and everything.

"Careful now, this is some strong stuff."

"It's not any different from what you usually give us," Rachel shrugged.

He chuckled, "That's where you're wrong, Rach. I'm growing some new shit, and I gotta say, this'll rock your world."

"Okay, are we done here?" Haley asked, sudddenly growing jittery with each minute that passed.

"I'll see you guys later," Lucas said before walking back into the building.

"Same here. Stay hot ladies," Chris winked before following Lucas' lead.

"Wow, I feel like I just dropped a couple of IQ points," Haley stated as they got back into Rachel's car.

"That's what you get when you're around a pothead like him," Rachel answered.

Brooke shook her head, "I can't believe he actually fights."

"Chris Keller is living proof that anyone can get into that stuff."

* * *

"So Luke, what's the deal with that new brunette chick that was hanging with Rachel and Haley?" Chris asked as he followed Lucas down into the basement.

"Her name's Brooke, and don't even think about it. She's not interested," Lucas stated, secretly switching the bag of pot from his pocket into his gym bag, zipping it all the way closed. It wasn't his business who Brooke talked to, but he hoped that she had more sense than to ever associate with 'the Keller.'

"What? You already hooking up with her? What happened to Peyton?"

Lucas and Peyton's situation was an annoying issue that loomed over his head on a daily basis. There were fucked up circumstances and issues that he would rather not talk about to anybody, let alone Chris Keller. Not only was it irritating within itself, it was another thing that everyone knew about it. They knew about Lucas and Peyton's relationship, and some people talked about it like they were discussing the five o'clock news.

"No, Brooke's my friend, and she can do a lot better than you. And for the last time, me and Peyton are not together."

"Oh really? Is that what you're still telling people? No offense Luke, but that's pretty hard for anyone to believe."

"Well I'm serious about it this time. Peyton's pushed her limits with me. We're done," he said.

"If you say so, man," Chris chuckled.

"You know Chris, you're really not in the position to even be talking to me right now."

"Well if I remember correctly, I just sold you some weed and didn't tell Cooper or your little friends about it."

Lucas groaned internally. He really wasn't in the place to be handing out threats, especially if his moneymaker was depending on it. Maybe he would try to hold off on punching Chris' lights out. Maybe.

"I just don't want to hear about Peyton anymore, alright?" he asked.

Chris held his hands up, "Hey, all you had to do was ask nicely."

"Please tell me that you didn't just do what I think you just did," Nathan said, walking up to his twin.

Lucas shrugged, "Okay, then I just won't tell you."

"Come on Luke, are you serious right now?"

"Nate, chill out."

"No, I won't whenever my brother is on the verge of throwing his fucking job out the window. And when that time comes, when you get busted, Cooper won't care if you're one of his best fighters, he'll get rid of you."

"That's not going to happen if people like you and Keller shut your mouths."

"You don't need to worry about me because it's not just your money, it's mine too. Don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

The moment Chris mentioned that he had been growing some new stuff, Haley knew that she would end up driving. There was no way Rachel could drive sanely when she was as baked as a potato. But even now she couldn't quite use that analogy; Rachel was so high it was new to her. Brooke had taken Haley's original spot in the passenger seat while Rachel laid sprawled on the back seat, twisting the air vents around and laughing hysterically.

They had been on the road for not even two minutes before Rachel had commanded Haley to go into her glove compartment and pull out her tiny bowl. Haley had been reluctant, but knew that if she didn't, Rachel would beat her to death, and she was her ride home. After lighting up, smoke encompassed the vehicle, and a couple of minutes after that they were swerving around on the empty highway. So it had became obvious that someone else needed to drive.

"I know this isn't how you wanted to spend your afternoon. Rachel shouldn't have dragged you along."

Brooke chuckled, glancing behind her, "Nah, it's alright. It sure is funny watching Rachel like this though."

"Yeah, Chris wasn't kidding when he said his new weed was strong. I don't know how she's going to explain this to her family."

"Probably by spitting wine out of her mouth like a fountain. That's happened to me a time or two."

"Correct me if my assumption is wrong, but it seems to me that you're like a reformed Rachel." The smirk disappeared slightly from the brunette's face that didn't go unnoticed by the perceptive tutorgirl.

"It's okay, you don't need to tell me anything," Haley blurted.

"No, no, it's okay. Uhm, yeah, Rachel reminds me a lot of myself, only I was a lot more screwed up," Brooke said, leaving it at that. It had been a good couple of months before her past had been questioned, and she expected it sooner or later. But she was going to hold onto it herself for as long as she could, and hope that nothing seeped out.

Haley glanced at her new friend, wondering what else there was. It was in her genes as a girl and as a James to want to know anything and everything. Something told her that Rachel was nothing compared to how Brooke Davis used to be.

Five minutes had past, with no noise but the force of the air vent and Rachel's snorting chuckles, until the laughter stopped and Haley heard the familiar noise of a cellphone ringing.

"OWEN! Heyy baby!" Rachel screamed into the phone. Haley and Brooke stared at each other in horror, knowing that this wasn't going to end well if they didn't get that phone out of Rachel's hands quick.

Brooke spun around and held her hand out, "Rachel, give me the phone!"

"Fuck you, Brooke! I'm on the phone talking to my BOYFRIEND! Did you hear that, babe? I called you my BOYFRIEND!" Rachel continued, and by no means would anyone think she was in her right mind. Brooke sighed and still tried to get the phone out of her hands, but no such luck came.

"Haley this isn't going to work out. Owen probably already figured it out," Brooke said.

"Calm down Owen, I'm just a little, sleepy, that's all," Rachel chuckled, snorting in the process. "Hey Hales, can we stop by KFC before we go home? I've got the munch- Owen? Owen? Owen, please don't be mad at me, I'm just a little tired, that's all. What are you talking about? I'm not HIGH! That's just crazy talk!"

Brooke heard immense yelling from the other side of the phone as well, but it wasn't the happy loopy tones that Rachel was possessing at the moment.

"God this is gonna get ugly."

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Owen? OWEN? Godamn't, he hung up on me!" Rachel exclaimed, throwing her phone against the window.

"Owen's a recovering drug addict, and he's been high on anything and everything you could possibly think of. It ruined his life. So now he's a complete straight edge, aside from the obvious situation. Rachel getting high is the last thing he wants."

"So I guess their 'exclusivity' is up in the air now, isn't it?"

"Looks like it."

"And the sad part is that she doesn't even realize it yet," Brooke said as Rachel was attempting to blow spit bubbles out of her mouth.


End file.
